Assume, for a moment, that agriculture minister Ralph Goodale sticks with his gut instinct to preserve the existing Canadian Wheat Board export monopoly on wheat and barley.
As the lead minister, Goodale will be the government spokesman designated to make the announcement.
If the decision is to be credible and effectively implemented, however, Goodale had better make sure at least three other members of the cabinet are aware of the nuances of the file and are prepared to be active and articulate in its defence.
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The first is national revenue minister Jane Stewart, whose customs agents will be policing the border if that is the government choice. Stewart must be well enough briefed to defend her agents in the Commons and to understand the bad image that comes from jailing farmers.
The second is justice minister Allan Rock, whose department will be called upon to prosecute violators, even if the effect is to give opponents of the Wheat Board a platform to claim persecution.
Rock must be able to, and prepared to, defend his department and the government’s determination to maintain the rule of law.
Defence of the Wheat Board export monopoly will be a controversial decision, likely to produce vows and actions of defiance from some farmers.
If the government decision is to be credible, the justice minister must be able to show he is committed to defending it. For a Toronto minister, it is not a file that will come naturally.
But the most important cabinet member who must be part of the policy defence is prime minister Jean ChrŽtien.
An indication from ChrŽtien that this is a priority government decision, supported with the full weight of government, will be key. When questions are asked in the House of Commons, it will be an important reflection of the importance the government gives the issue if ChrŽtien can answer.
This sounds like motherhood but ChrŽtien’s record on sounding like he knows what he is talking about when it comes to agriculture is not good. It is difficult to shake the memory of Jean ChrŽtien, then-Liberal Opposition leader, meeting with farm leaders before the 1993 election.
He was asked about the Tory decision to take barley out of the Board’s monopoly and the Liberal leader seemed to remember just enough of his pre-briefing to recall that farmers were demanding a vote before action was taken.
Unfortunately for the Liberals, he confused two controversies – the Canadian Wheat Board and the Crow rate.
ChrŽtien ended up promising a vote on the Crow rate, which left his wheat board spokesman to explain to reporters that his leader really had meant the Board.
It was a sign that ChrŽtien either was poorly briefed or was unable to grasp the subtleties of complicated agricultural policies. If the government does decide to maintain the Wheat Board export monopoly, ChrŽtien will have to put in a better performance than that.
Any indication this is not a government-wide commitment would undermine whatever Goodale announces.
