Prairie farmers will have a chance to pass judgment on at least four of
the five Canadian Wheat Board directors whose terms of office run out
this year.
Directors Art Macklin, Larry Hill, Mike Halyk and Bill Nicholson all
say they’re planning to run for another four year-term on the board.
John Clair, the director for district 5, hasn’t yet decided whether to
run in this fall’s election.
All of those seeking re-election say they’re preparing to defend the
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board’s performance as a single desk seller against a hard-fought
campaign by opponents of the agency’s monopoly.
“There is no question they will be making a concerted effort to take
over control of the board,” said Hill, who farms at Swift Current.
Macklin, whose district encompasses northern Alberta, said it’s already
clear that proponents of a dual market will be running hard to knock
off the pro-monopoly incumbents.
“Certainly there appears to be an organized effort,” he said from his
farm near Grande Prairie, Alta. “Obviously they’re going to be putting
that forward as one of their main planks.”
Last month a group of eight high-profile farmers from across the
Prairies jointly announced their intention to run for election on a
platform based on ending the board’s export monopoly and allowing
farmers to sell their export grain as individuals or through private
grain companies.
At least one member of the dual market slate will be running in each of
the five districts holding a vote this fall.
The incumbent directors all say that a dual market can’t work and
choice is really between single desk selling and a completely open
market.
“We all know there is no such thing as a dual market,” said Halyk, of
Melville, Sask. “It’s either do farmers have the ability to be in the
marketplace in a collective manner through the single desk, or not?”
Macklin said those who suggest that the board can operate as a
“voluntary” marketing organization are misleading the voters.
“Common sense economics indicates that you can’t have the benefit of
single desk selling if you have multiple sellers,” he said. “A dual
market is only a very short transition to no wheat board at all, and I
think they should be honest about that.”
Nicholson, of Shoal Lake, Man., said he’d prefer the election focus
less on the political debate about single desk selling and more on
whether incumbent directors have done a good job of running the CWB as
a business.
“That’s really what the election should be about, rather than this
notion of a dual market,” he said. “But if it’s on people’s minds, it
has to be dealt with as well.”
Halyk said while he will have no problem explaining the advantages of
single desk selling, he expects a rougher time defending the board’s
record in some other areas, such as its role in promoting value-added
activities, the treatment of organic production and feed barley
marketing.
All of the incumbents also expressed concern about the issue of
campaign financing, particularly in terms of spending by third party
groups in support of certain candidates.
In the 2000 election, controversy arose over third-party spending in
support of anti-monopoly candidates. Earlier this year the board of
directors recommended that stricter controls and reporting rules be
implemented for this election, but as of last week the federal
government has not responded to the request.
“As an individual, it’s going to be hard for me to fight against some
large organized effort,” said Hill. “Politics is a dirty game, I’ve
found.”
