In the aftermath of a Federal Court decision blocking its attempt to remove barley from the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk, the federal government seemed initially to have adopted a good cop-bad cop routine.
The good cop was CWB minister Chuck Strahl, who at first struck a conciliatory tone on what will happen next.
He suggested the government was willing to put the acrimony of the past year behind it and work with the board on ways to satisfy farmers’ demands for more marketing choice.
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“By all means this is an opportunity to work together,” he said in an interview.
“It’s possible that as we move ahead on this that we may be able to work together based on what the board sees as its options and on what we can do at our end.”
Strahl said he was encouraged by statements by the board that the status quo is not good enough and that the agency will focus on providing producers with more pricing and delivery options.
The next day that olive branch was seemingly snatched away by Strahl’s boss.
Speaking to reporters in Prince Edward Island, prime minister Stephen Harper adopted a harder line, criticizing the board for ignoring farmers’ wishes and vowing to end the monopoly no matter what.
“I hope the wheat board is going to start working with the government to make sure this is going to happen because it’s going to happen one way or another,” he said.
The court ruling “does not change the determination of the government of Canada to see a dual market for Canadian farmers,” said Harper.
The next day Strahl issued a press release echoing Harper’s comments.
Liberal MP and former CWB minister Ralph Goodale was dismayed, but not surprised, by Harper’s comments, accusing him of engaging in a personal vendetta against the wheat board dating back to his days as head of the right-wing lobby group the National Citizens’ Coalition.
“The driving force on this is now and always has been Stephen Harper,” Goodale said. “It has become almost an obsession.”
In a decision handed down July 31, Federal Court justice Dolores Hansen rejected the government’s bid to remove barley from the board’s jurisdiction by issuing a regulatory order, ruling such a change can be done only through Parliament. The government is considering an appeal.
The ruling elated supporters of the single desk and angered open marketers.
“This is a devastating economic result for those farmers who were ready to capitalize on good prices being offered by the private trade,” said Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association president Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel.
Stewart Wells, president of the National Farmers Union, described the court’s ruling as a victory for farmers and democracy.
“The judge’s ruling … reasserts the rule of law and democracy,” he said, and confirms that farmers, not the government, are in control of the board’s future.
The ruling sent feed barley futures prices plummeting and created confusion for grain merchants and farmers who had contracts for barley exports or sales to domestic processors after Aug. 1.
With the single desk still in effect, those contracts are null and void. The board says it will work with grain companies to execute those sales wherever possible. Farmers who made open market sales are advised to contact the board.
CWB chair Ken Ritter said he hopes the court decision will provide an opportunity for the board and government to work together for the benefit of farmers.
“If this is the first step towards that dialogue, I really welcome it,” he said.
While the court ruling established that the board has “statutory independence,” Ritter said it’s crucial to have a good working relationship with the government.
The board unanimously agreed at a recent meeting to focus on expanding price, delivery and marketing options for farmers to meet demands for more marketing choice, without sacrificing the benefits of the single desk and price pooling.
That could include more choice for farmers as to when to deliver board grains and a predictable cash pricing option that mirrors the open market.
While acknowledging there’s no way the board can satisfy everyone, Ritter thinks it can meet the needs of most farmers.
Strahl said he was pleased by the board’s comments that it won’t be “business-
as-usual” in the wake of the court ruling.
“I’m encouraged by those comments, but I’m not sure what the specific ideas are so I don’t want to overstate it,” he said. “But the broad rhetoric is right and I appreciate that.”
The minister, who has been at odds with the board almost since the day he was appointed, said he is anxious to see what new ideas it comes up with and that he will look at them with an open mind.
The key will be satisfying farmers who want to be in control of their own marketing choices, Strahl said.
Agricultural economist Murray Fulton doesn’t hold out much hope the two sides can work together.
“This is so politically charged there may not be any way to achieve compromise and consensus.”
