Canadian Wheat Board president Adrian Measner has told the government his belief in the value of single desk marketing and farmers’ control of the grain marketing agency is worth more to him than his job.
In what could be the epitaph to his 32 years at the board, Measner sent a lengthy and impassioned letter to CWB minister Chuck Strahl last week defending the single desk and praising the organization, its employees and its successful transition to farmer control.
He said he was disappointed that the government had re-opened the bitter, emotional and divisive debate that had quieted in recent years, as the board made numerous operational changes in response to farmers’ wishes.
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Measner said while he is prepared to stay on the job, he’s not prepared to do the government’s bidding.
“As long as I am president and CEO of the CWB I will follow and execute whatever direction farmers set for this corporation,” he said at the conclusion of the four page letter sent to Strahl Dec. 14.
“However, to execute your vision I must work against the farmer-elected board of directors and this is something I will not do.”
The letter was Measner’s response to a Nov. 29 letter from Strahl in which the minister said he was considering terminating Measner’s appointment as president and giving him two weeks to respond.
There were suggestions from some government officials that Measner might be able to keep his job if he agreed to support the government’s plans to dismantle the single desk.
His response virtually guarantees his dismissal, although no such announcement had been made by Strahl as of Dec. 18.
Measner’s tenure at the board was also the focal point of a Dec. 14 rally of farmers supporting the board’s single desk.
A couple of hundred farmers met in Oak Bluff, just outside of Winnipeg, and passed a resolution demanding that Measner be retained. They then travelled to the CWB downtown office building for a noon-hour rally at which Measner spoke.
Also last week, more than 300 CWB employees signed a petition to Strahl stating their belief that Measner is the best qualified person to lead the board in fulfilling its mandate of obtaining the best returns for prairie grain farmers.
In his letter, Measner said the board and its employees are focused solely on serving farmers and earning as much money for producers as possible from world and domestic markets.
He urged the minister to spend time with the board’s employees to gain an understanding of how they operate and the benefits they bring to prairie wheat and barley growers.