The election of Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has put the future of the Canadian Wheat Board in play.
Ending the board’s monopoly was part of the party’s election platform, but agriculture minister Chuck Strahl says it is not an immediate priority.
Still, debate on the controversial issue is reignited and in coming months there will be much talk about whether the CWB should change and if so, how.
Invariably in this discussion the example of the Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board is raised. Early in this decade, the Ontario board shifted from a monopoly organization into a voluntary player handling at times as little as 13 percent of the crop.
In this special report, the Western Producer’s Adrian Ewins examines the Ontario experience and the debate about whether it has relevance to farmers in the West.
