I am writing this letter to clarify my position as a (Canadian Wheat Board candidate for) director for district 5. The front page article ( “Candidates avoid the ‘O’ word,”WP,Nov. 11) suggested that candidates were being less that clear.
So let me state my position clearly. My bias is in favour of an open market. However, I recognize that the monopoly has many supporters, and that the CWB is a long term institution in our current marketing system, and there are consequences of change.
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Therefore, I acknowledge my role as a director is to assess the performance of the CWB for its ability to achieve maximum benefit to producers and be a cost effective mechanism of marketing for farmers, and report back to farmers the findings.
I think the CWB has many problems: lack of transparency, poor accountability, lacklustre marketing performance and a voters list that remains a dubious representation of farmers, to name a few. This is why I call for a total 360 review in my campaign.
In the 20 years that I have been in business, I have witnessed many farmers forced to exit farming because they could not make a decent living.
I have had farmers cry in front of me because they were losing their farms.
If I can do anything to help put more money in farmers’ pockets, I will. And if that mean s taking the single desk away, then that’s what I’ll support as a director.
However, I recognize my duty is to fully examine all the issues and engage the farming farmers in that decision, which is why I believe the voters list must be thoroughly reviewed.
Not one of the candidates supporting the single desk has said that. It appears they would keep the single desk even if proven to be costing farmers. I can’t go there.
When a candidate states that he stands to protect the single desk at all costs, he is potentially willing to sacrifice the economic performance for the farmers.
Fact is, when compared to the U.S. street price, we are not getting a premium. If we were, the question of the CWB future would not exist.
I understand my position may not be tough enough for some open market minded producers who just want to get rid of the CWB. They may fear that once I get on the board that I will soften, like others before me have.
I also understand that for farmers who want the monopoly at all costs, my position is too harsh.
All I can say is I stand for whatever creates greater wealth for farmers, and the single desk must prove that this is the case. The director elections are not a plebiscite on the single desk, nor should they be. They are about management and governance.
It’s not about whether one candidate stands for the status quo or that another stands for change. It’s about finding the best business model to satisfy the needs of the farming community.
The role of a director is to find the best model and achieve the best results for the producers.
I believe in transparency, review and accountability. I believe it is time to focus on the money, not the politics. The CWB, to be relevant in the future, must become a performance based entity that must show us the money. I believe my experience prepares me well to represent producers as a director of the CWB.
Vicki Dutton,
Paynton, Sask.
