Wow, lots of stuff is happening on the CWB file and I get the strong sense this train is really beginning to roll, driven by the government and organizations that support the ending of the wheat board monopolies.
Today Gerry Ritz announced that the Canadian Canola Growers Association is going to be in charge of offering the cash advances for spring wheat, durum and barley beginning in April 2012.
And the Working Group on Marketing Freedom, the group recommending changes necessary for the post-monopoly grain system to work right, made a pretty clear recommendation in its report – released yesterday – to fire or gut or neutralize the power of the CWB’s board of directors. (Vague wording was used, but it’s pretty clear to me what they’re suggesting by saying “The working group therefore considers that the CWB needs to get on with preparing for implementation. If the CWB will not do so, the working group recommends that the minister consider measures to facilitate the development of a business model for a voluntary CWB that will be available to farmers on August 1, 2012.”)
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There’s a lot of talent hidden among the canola fields and cattle pastures of Western Canada that isn’t always noticeable from the highway or gravel road.
So this train is rolling down the tracks, and it looks like the government is already taking the concrete steps that need to be taken to unravel the complex system, even before legislation appears. The post-CWB world is being built.
