CAMROSE, Alta. – Alberta’s agriculture minister has warned the Canadian Wheat Board and grain companies to stay away from the grain marketing plebiscite.
And if they don’t, Walter Pasz-kowski said the provincial government may enter the fray.
The minister said the upcoming plebiscite asking farmers how they want to market their barley and wheat should only be discussed by farmers.
“It should be farmers making decisions on farmer input,” he said in an interview from his Sexsmith home, adding there are plenty of informed farmers who can answer producers’ questions without having to bring officials from the Canadian Wheat Board or the government into the discussion.
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Paszkowski’s remarks have drawn criticism from various quarters, and some say the government is already involved in the debate. Cory Ollikka of the National Farmers Union said in a news release that there is already government involvement because the province provides grants to groups the NFU considers to be anti-wheat board, such as the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
Minister not neutral
Ollikka also pointed to instances where Paszkowski was quoted as being in favor of “flexibility in marketing” and to his predictions of the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board, as evidence the minister is not remaining neutral.
The plebiscite, scheduled Nov. 14-24, asks farmers if they want to be able to legally sell wheat or barley internationally without going through the Canadian Wheat Board.
Paszkowski’s remarks were a response to an invitation from Canadian Wheat Board Advisory Committee member Art Macklin, who requested representatives of the Alberta government’s dual marketing steering committee and the wheat board to debate the plebiscite question at upcoming meetings.
Macklin said in a news release that meetings organized by the Alberta Barley Commission, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Assoc-iation and the Western Barley Growers could be one-sided.
“Did the minister warn them to stay away from the plebiscite? We’ve invited speakers to discuss both sides.”
Wheat board information co-ordinator Brian Stacey said several organizations have asked commissioners to speak at their meetings.
“Where we are invited, we plan to go out and attend those meetings.” Stacey said the wheat board is worried about “misinformation” on how the board works.
Advisory committee member Lorne Pattison elaborated: “I expect the CWB spokesperson will explain single-desk selling, price pooling and how the loss of its selling monopoly would affect farmers. I would hope that the minister supports a vote cast on the basis of sound information rather than empty rhetoric.”
Alberta Wheat Pool president Alex Graham said he is surprised the agriculture minister would want to limit the debate: “It’s not for the government to say who can and cannot speak on this issue.”
He also questioned whether representatives of the dual marketing side, the Alberta Barley Commission funded by a producer checkoffs, are representative of all barley growers.
