It’s not the way Adrian Measner envisioned his long career at the Canadian Wheat Board coming to an end.
After more than 30 years at the board, including the last four as president and chief executive officer, the 54-year-old native of Holdfast, Sask., was told last week by CWB minister Chuck Strahl that he can expect to be fired by mid-December.
“It’s certainly not the way I wanted to end my career at the wheat board, but I’m not in control of that so I have to deal with it,” he said in interview a few days after receiving the news.
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Measner received a letter from Strahl last week saying he was “contemplating” terminating him as president and asking him to respond with any comments by Dec. 14. That’s the same kind of letter that former director Ross Keith received before he was fired by Strahl in October.
The board’s CEO is on the firing line because he opposes the government’s plans to dismantle the CWB’s single desk marketing authority.
“The government needs to be confident that its appointees will actively support its position on marketing choice,” said a spokesperson for Strahl, adding that no final decision has been made.
There have been suggestions that Measner might be able to retain his job if he switched his position and pledged to support and help implement the government’s plans.
But Measner said there is no possibility he will abandon his strongly held belief that the single desk is the best marketing system for prairie farmers.
“I have to be guided by what I’ve learned over the years, what I’ve been told by producers and what I feel is right for farmers,” he said.
“I’m not going to change that in the face of a threat.”
The board of directors sent a letter to Strahl supporting Measner and urging the minister to reconsider his decision, but Measner said he’s resigned to his fate.
“The letter doesn’t say there’s a 100 percent certainty but it certainly seems likely and I am assuming they are moving to replace me,” he said.
However, Measner said what happens to him personally isn’t the issue.
He said the government is attempting to wrest control of the board from farmers, contrary to the intent of the CWB Act passed in 1998.
Measner said what he finds most troubling is Strahl’s refusal to engage in serious discussions with the board and its elected farmer directors on the agency’s future.
He had hoped Strahl would have met with the board at the beginning of his tenure to discuss the government’s policies and ask for input and advice before moving forward with changes. Instead, the government came into office with the decision already made.
“There was absolutely no willingness on the part of the government to engage in discussion,” he said.
Despite the government’s obvious determination, Measner said farmers shouldn’t give up the fight to keep the single desk.
“I believe the single desk can be saved, but ultimately the decision should be made by farmers, and I will respect that decision,” he said, adding the outcome of the director elections could be a crucial factor in determining the board’s future.
