The Canadian Wheat Board has again called on MP David Anderson to retract and apologize for his allegation that the board illegally sold grain to Iraq under the United Nations oil-for-food program.
However, a spokesperson for Anderson said the MP has no plans to make any comment on the matter.
On May 6, Anderson told the House of Commons that the board “illegally arranged sales” to the oil-for-food program through one of its accredited exporters, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
The board immediately denied the charge and called on Anderson numerous times to retract his statement and apologize to the board and prairie farmers, which he has declined to do.
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A recently released UN report on the program contains no reference to the CWB or any other Canadian grain merchant, and makes no suggestion that the CWB or any other Canadian grain merchant did anything inappropriate during the life of the seven-year program.
In light of that, CWB chair Ken Ritter said Anderson should do the right thing and admit he was wrong.
“I think he certainly has a moral responsibility to retract those statements and I hope he will do that,” he said.
Ritter said it’s noteworthy that Anderson has never repeated the charge outside the House of Commons, where statements are protected from legal action.
“Absolutely he has the protection of the House … but he also has a responsibility to be accurate, to be fair-minded and to be responsible.”
Erin Iverson, legislative assistant to Anderson, said he would make no further comment on the issue.
Asked if the MP felt any need to clarify what he said in the House, in light of the UN report, she said: “All I know is no comment.”
Anderson engaged in correspondence with the board in which he asked for more information about a June 1999 sale of 25,000 tonnes of wheat to Iraq by Sask Pool.
The board said it had no involvement in the deal after it sold the wheat to Sask Pool under the accredited exporter program. The pool has said it also followed all the rules governing sales to Iraq.
In an interview last June, Anderson was asked if he stood by the allegation that the CWB acted illegally.
He declined to respond directly, instead saying he and his staff were attempting to sort out what roles were played by the government, the board and SWP in the Iraqi sale.
