The Conservative party said if it receives a majority mandate in the May 2 election, it will work with prairie farmers to end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, at least for barley.
But it is not promising immediate or radical moves to amend the CWB Act for quick elimination of the monopoly.
“We will continue to work with western Canadian grain farmers to ensure that the results of the barley plebiscite are respected and that they are given the freedom to choose whether to sell grain on the open market or through the CWB,” said the party platform unveiled April 8 in the Toronto area by prime minister Stephen Harper.
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He did not indicate whether the pledge was to end the monopoly just for barley or for wheat as well.
As of April 11, Harper had not explained the promise. His two speeches about agriculture policy were in Quebec where he emphasized Conservative support for supply management.
The Conservatives are hoping to pick up support in rural Quebec where the Bloc Québécois has held sway for 17 years.
In an interview in his Saskatchewan riding, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz did not tip his hand on government strategy on the CWB issue.
On April 7, the day before the platform was released, he responded to a question on how quickly a majority Conservative government would move on the file by saying it would be a “methodical” process.
He said 10 percent of grain farmers want the end of the board, 10 percent want no change and the rest want the best system for their bottom line.
He said the government will discuss the issue with farmers to decide the best course, although he asserted that the survival of the Ontario Wheat Board after it lost its monopoly shows a dual market is an option.
“At the end of the day, we recognize democracy and the right of farmers to be consulted.”
Ritz said the government will want to talk to affected farmers.
“We’ll see how that plays out,” he said. “We keep in mind that just about any riding affected by the CWB has voted Conservative in recent elections.”
On the ground in Western Canada, Conservative candidates were telling voters that the platform pledge was a clear indication a majority Conservative government would act in its first term to give prairie farmers the option of using a voluntary wheat board marketing agency or the open market.
“Choice is what we said we will offer all along,” said Ted Menzies in his Alberta riding April 9.
“Barley could be step one. Where we end up after that, we’ll see and I hope we can engage farmers on the issues. I don’t want to see us be heavy-handed but you know where I stand on what the goal is.”
Menzies, a three-term MP for the rural riding south of Calgary, is a former president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers’ Association and a long-time opponent of the CWB monopoly.
Brian Storseth, a two-term MP running for re-election in the Westlock- St. Paul riding north of Edmonton, said his preference would be a change in the CWB Act to give farmers an opt-out clause as proposed in a private member’s bill from Ontario MP Bruce Stanton in the last Parliament.
“But whatever the path, I’ll be pushing our government to act on this file,” he said.
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