Rod Flaman has already decided on which Canadian Wheat Board committee he wants to
sit.
However, the transition committee to steer the wheat board toward becoming a voluntary
marketing agency doesn’t exist.
The new director for District 8 said it should.
Flaman, who farms at Edenwold, Sask., said the board must consider marketing choice,
given the election result announced Dec. 18.
Fifty-two percent of voters favored dual marketing, Flaman said, up from 47 percent in
1998. This indicates it’s only a matter of time before the board has to change.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“It’s not going to happen in January of 2001, but it might occur in January of 2003,” he
said.
Flaman is an outspoken critic of the board’s monopoly on western grown wheat and barley
exports, and has challenged it by taking grain across the American border without a permit.
He ran unsuccessfully in District 8 two years ago, but this year defeated long-time advisory
committee member and incumbent director Terry Hanson.
Hanson won the first ballot with 2,660 votes; Flaman picked up 2,175 and David Schnell, of
Lampman, had 2,122.
But most of Schnell’s support went to Flaman on the second ballot and 534 votes were
exhausted, meaning no second choice was indicated.
The final tally was 3,455 for Flaman and 2,977 for Hanson.
Hanson, of Fillmore, said several factors contributed to his loss, including the perception the
board is closely tied to Ottawa.
“I had a very difficult time separating myself from the federal and provincial governments
not responding to the needs of farmers in my district,” he said.
As well, the inability of Prairie Pasta Producers, led by Schnell, to get its plan for a prairie
pasta plant off the ground was seen as the board’s fault, he said.
Hanson intends to remain active in agricultural politics, especially in grain transportation.
