The federal government wants to remove spending limits for third parties in this fall’s Canadian Wheat Board director elections.
Registered third party interveners are limited to spending $10,000 on advertising and promotion.
Proposed changes published in the Canada Gazette Aug. 1 would allow unlimited spending by third parties such as farm groups, grain companies and provincial governments.
In its proposal to repeal section 28 of the CWB director election regulation, the government says the goal is to encourage free and open debate.
“This would enable farmers and other interested persons to participate in a thorough, public discussion about the future direction of the CWB and help eligible voters to make a better-informed choice when voting,” it said.
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Darrin Qualman of the National Farmers Union has a different view.
“They’re saying the ability to communicate will be based on the ability to pay,” he said, contrasting the government’s stated commitment to open debate with its gag order on the CWB.
He said the only reason for the proposed change is to enable well-funded groups that support the open market, such as grain companies and the Alberta government, to dominate the debate and sway the election results.
“The elections haven’t gone the way they like in the past, and the government wants to change that,” Qualman said.
Third party groups would still be required to register and report their spending after the election to the elections co-ordinator.
The spending limit for individual candidates would remain $15,000.
Comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted to Agriculture Canada by Aug. 31.
