The federal government should foot the bill for defending Canada’s grain trading practices against trade actions by the United States, says the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
The CWB estimates it will spend $8 to $10 million to defend itself against the countervail duty and anti-dumping cases under way.
That money will come out of the board’s pool accounts and therefore out of farmers’ pockets, which the wheat growers association says isn’t right.
“Trade is a federal responsibility and the government should not be offloading its accountability for this issue or the costs of this action onto the backs of western farmers,” association president Art Enns said in a News release
news.
He said the trade action is directed primarily at the wheat board, which is a government-sanctioned organization that exists by virtue of federal legislation.
Enns added that while the wheat growers association wants the board’s single desk authority dismantled, that should be decided within Canada and not by U.S. farm lobby groups.
