A three-member panel that reviewed the Canadian Wheat Board’s election process made recommendations in 14 areas:
- Voter eligibility – Only actual producers who have delivered at least 40 tonnes to the CWB in one of the previous two years may vote.
- Voting age – The minimum voting age will be reduced to 16 from 18.
- Home district – Producers shall vote in the district in which their home quarter is located.
- District boundaries – Boundaries will be readjusted each election to ensure no more than a 15 percent variance in population among districts.
- Election commissioner – An independent commissioner, appointed by the CWB board of directors and reporting directly to the chief executive officer, will oversee the election.
- Spending – Third-party spending on behalf of specific candidates will be counted against the candidate’s individual limit of $10,000.
- Scrutineers – Each candidate can name one scrutineer to observe the vote count, to provide increased transparency and trust in the outcome.
- Communications – Farmers can indicate in their permit book whether they wish to have their phone numbers and addresses released to candidates.
- Ballot – The preferential ballot will be retained, but farmers should receive a better explanation of how it works.
- Financing – The CWB will be prohibited from providing financial support to any candidate.
- Code of conduct – Incumbent directors seeking re-election can attend board meetings but not deal with the media or attend public functions on behalf of the board during the election period. The CWB will not make payment and program announcements during the period.
- Election period – The vote will be moved from the fall to the winter.
- Appointed directors – Five appointed directors shall be selected by the 10 elected directors. Only three of the five appointed directors can vote on any single issue.
- Statutory declaration – Any eligible voter whose name does not appear on the voters list can gain a ballot through a statutory declaration.
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