The federal government is pushing ahead with plans to end single desk grain marketing in Western Canada.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz tabled a bill today that if passed, would end the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly for wheat and non-feed barley and allow western Canadian farmers to sell their grain to private grain companies, rather than the board, beginning Aug. 1, 2012.
Bill C-18, The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, also contains provisions for the formation of an interim Canadian Wheat Board that would allow farmers to pool their wheat and barley on a voluntary basis.
The voluntary board would be managed by five government appointed directors and would operate with the help of government promises to:
* Guarantee initial payments and borrowing requirements for the interim board.
* Help to pay for the re-organization of the board and the removal of the CWB monopoly.
* Collect voluntary producer checkoffs that support research and market development activities.
The voluntary board would have up to four years, until Aug. 1, 2016, to submit a plan to the federal government aimed at privatizing or dissolving the interim entity.
At a news conference unveiling the government’s plans, Ritz assured farmers that existing grain industry organizations including the Western Grains Research Foundation, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre and the Canadian International Grains Institute would continue to deliver vital services under an open market system.
The government also vowed to modernize the Canadian Grain Act and the Canadian Grain Commission and implement grain transportation reforms outlined in the Rail Freight Service Review.
Ritz said Ottawa will also take steps to protect the interests of producer car shippers, short-line railway operators and inland terminals, which continue to play an important role in Western Canada’s grain marketing and transportation system.
The federal government also offered additional funding to the Port of Churchill at Churchill, Man., — as much as $37 million over the next five years — to help offset the economic impact of the grain marketing changes on the northern port.
“Our government is delivering on our long-standing promise to give western Canadian grain farmers marketing freedom, just as they have when selling their canola or pulses,” Ritz said.
CWB chair Allen Oberg dismissed Ottawa’s plan as reckless and undemocratic, suggesting that Ottawa continues to ignore the wishes of western farmers.
He said CWB directors will meet next week in Winnipeg to review the proposed legislation and consider their options.
He said the CWB will consider all options, including court action aimed at challenging the legality of C-18.
Oberg dismissed the idea of a voluntary wheat board, calling the government’s interim organization an ill-defined entity that will offer limited value to farmers and have little chance of survival.
