BANFF, Alta. — Barley growers didn’t like the answer they got from the federal minister of agriculture about a plebiscite on how to sell their crop.
In the words of one barley grower, the government has offered them “a plebiscite, but not necessarily a plebiscite.”
The Western Barley Growers Association, with support of United Grain Growers and other commodity groups, have requested a referendum to decide whether they should be allowed to sell barley into the United States on their own. A portion of the letter was read at the annual barley growers convention by Goodale’s parliamentary secretary, Lyle Vanclief.
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The letter outlined some of the minister’s concerns with a farmer vote. Vanclief said the minister “is not philosophically opposed” to a referendum and he wants input from farmers on to how to solve their problems.
The letter asked how the vote would be triggered, who would supervise the vote to guarantee fairness and who would be eligible to vote. It also asked how the question would be asked and what percentage turnout would be acceptable to legitimize the vote.
“Please be assured my objective as minister is to have in place the very best marketing system to maximize results for farmers,” Vanclief read.
Election promise
The barley growers argue that prime minister Jean Chretien promised during the election campaign that he would give the go-ahead for a vote on the barley issue, but Vanclief said the remark was taken out of context.
He said the prime minister said “those types of decisions should only be made after consultation, and yes, he may have used the word plebiscite, with producers … we have not made any decision yet.”
Buck Spencer of Nobleford told Vanclief the best way to study the effectiveness of an open market is to reinstate it rather than trying to guess how the situation would unfold.
“We are the people that are growing the grain and we’re trying to tell you as representatives of us, this is what we want,” Spencer said.
Amidst loud applause Ted Cawkwell, the past-president of the barley group, was less diplomatic in telling the government what he wanted it to do with regulations and programs regarding his business.
“I think it’s time to get these regulations the hell out of our road and let us survive on our own.”
Ted Allen, president of United Grain Growers, also said the plebiscite must be addressed because the barley issue will not go away. He called the points in the letter red herrings.
Allen said grain companies would lose money in handling charges if farmers were allowed to sell barley without going through the wheat board but added, “bad public policy which causes economic harm to farmers will hurt grain companies as well.”