Whether it was bad timing or lack of interest, few farmers had much to say to the Canadian Wheat Board election review panel.
The panel’s period for public comment ended Sept. 30, and the panelists weren’t exactly overwhelmed with reading material.
Between 35 and 40 submissions were made, and most of those came from the usual array of farm organizations and lobby groups.
“I would have liked to have had more submissions,” said panel member Cecilia Olver, a farmer from Corning, Sask.
She said the disappointing response was undoubtedly due to the timing of the review, which ran through what turned out to be a long and difficult harvest.
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Besides the call for written submissions, the panel held three sparsely attended public hearings in August in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
Panelist David Rolfe of Elgin, Man., said he expected to hear more from individual farmers, but added that with the submissions from all the major farm groups, the panel has heard the full range of opinions on the issues.
The three-member panel, which also includes Greg Porozni of Willingdon, Alta., was appointed in June by CWB minister Reg Alcock to review the CWB election process and look at the voters list, different systems of voting, district boundaries, spending rules and the timing of the election.
The panel is to submit its report to Alcock at the end of November.
Perhaps the most contentious issue before the panel is whether to switch from the current “one permit book, one vote” system to some form of weighted ballot.
Proponents of the weighted ballot say that farmers with a greater commercial interest in the board should get more votes, similar to shareholders in a publicly traded company.
Opponents say it would give too much influence to a small number of big farmers. The National Farmers Union said in a recent News release
news that one particular proposal for a weighted ballot would give eight percent of permit book holders 50 percent of the votes.
Olver said the most important thing is to compile an accurate voters list that gives everybody assurance that the right people are voting on the board’s future.
She said the panel knows that its recommendations are bound to make some people unhappy.
“This is not an issue with a whole lot of common ground,” she said. “People are pretty political when it comes to the Canadian Wheat Board.”
