I would like to respond to J.W. Zunti’s letter in the June 9 issue of The Western Producer.
Our government has always been clear that western Canadian grain farmers deserve the freedom to choose how they market their grain. We believe farmers are best equipped to make their own business decisions.
The goal of the changes to the Canadian Wheat Board is to give farmers the right to choose how they market their grain. By opening the market, we are giving western grain farmers the same freedom and opportunity to make their own business decisions and market their grain as farmers in the rest of Canada and around the world have.
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Farmers were not allowed to vote when the CWB was imposed upon them in the 1940s, and they did not get a vote in 1998 when Ralph Goodale completely rewrote the CWB legislation.
I would like to point out that we just had the biggest referendum there could be — a general election. Our government has always put farmers first, which is why western Canadians gave this government a strong majority mandate. Now they expect us to deliver on our commitments.
We have always been clear -we support the right of western Canadian farmers to market their own grain. The federal government has the authority to rescind the CWB Act if that is what Parliament feels is appropriate.
There is nothing that says that rescinding the CWB Act is subject to a plebiscite. The CWB needs to stop refusing to acknowledge that all farmers deserve the right to choose how to market their grain.
Our government is committed to creating an open market that attracts investment, encourages innovation, creates value-added jobs and builds a stronger economy.
Western Canadian grain farmers want an alternative to the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly and we are working hard to give them that.
David Anderson,
MP, parliamentary secretary for the Canadian Wheat Board
