Leading opponents of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk are warning the federal government that the path to workable reform is a treacherous one that should be navigated carefully.
Grain Growers of Canada and two of its members – Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association and the Western Barley Growers Association – have urged the new government to write legislation that tries to create conditions in which a non-monopoly CWB will be able to compete.
They also recommended the government repeal the Canadian Wheat Board Act and introduce new legislation in the fall that would be less liable to court challenge.
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“There is an enormous amount of work needed to see change happen, especially if your goal is to actually have the wheat board in the marketplace as a real player,” Grain Growers executive director Richard Phillips said.
“It has always been our position that we want the wheat board to remain a strong marketing tool for farmers who want to use it, so let’s take some time and get it right.”
Phillips was an aide to former Liberal cabinet minister Reg Alcock when he was responsible for the wheat board.
CWB supporters insist the board cannot exist without the wheat and barley monopoly and the infrastructure needed to handle the grain it markets.
Last week, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz signaled that he is listening to the Grain Grower coalition by quickly accepting its argument that the government should take the next 14 months to craft and pass replacement legislation.
“This gives us a year to think through not only what the Canadian Wheat Board will look like, but also how to handle all of the change-related issues,” said GGC president Stephen Vandervalk.
The farm organizations recommended in a letter to prime minister Stephen Harperthat Ritz create a dedicated group within Agriculture Canada to work with other departments and farm groups over the summer, including the wheat board, to design the legislative details.
Phillips said issues that must be addressed include:
• should a voluntary CWB be a cooperative and what rules should apply to its ability to acquire assets?
• should a government guarantee on the initial price continue to be available in a transition?
• how would outstanding debt and interest charges on previous wheat board sales be handled?
• what dispute resolution processes should be in place?
• what will replace the board’s role in rail logistics, research check-off funding and funding for the Canadian International Grains Institute?
• should legislation open the way for the wheat board to handle crops other than wheat and barley and what rules should apply to contracts the board makes with private grain handlers?
Phillips said anti-monopoly activists who demand quick action this year do not understand how complex it will be.
“There’s a huge number of issues if you want it to be successful and want it to be a player that have to be resolved through this process, unless you want to kill off the CWB completely, and if that is the plan, then you might as well be honest and say we don’t want the wheat board in the end,” he said.
The Grain Growers coalition also warned the government against using as a template a private member’s bill introduced in the last Parliament that would have allowed grain producers to opt out of the wheat board under certain conditions.
The bill proposed by Ontario rural Conservative Bruce Stanton won support from prairie Conservative MPs. Several said during the election campaign they thought the Stanton proposal, Bill C-619, should be the model for government action.
The three organizations said it would undermine the CWB without settling any of the complications they want government legislation to address. They also worried it could be challenged in court because it would amend the CWB Act.
