OTTAWA – When he next faces Parliament in mid-September, agriculture minister Ralph Goodale will face conflicting political advice on what to do about proposals for Canadian Wheat Board reform.
Reform party MPs said last week they will demand the government act immediately to implement a more democratic board of directors and a removal of feed barley from the board’s export monopoly.
They argued the proposals from the Western Grain Marketing Panel do not go far enough, but they are a start.
“It’s a timid report,” said agriculture critic Elwin Hermanson. “They should have gone further. This is a minimum.”
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Added Alberta Reformer Leon Benoit: “We are just going to keep hammering away at him. He has to go much further than this.”
From within his own caucus, Goodale will be hearing some “go slow” advice.
Last week, Liberal Wayne Easter said he was writing to both Goodale and the Commons agriculture committee to suggest that the committee should hold public hearings before any decisions are made.
He is uneasy both with the proposal to elect most of the wheat board’s directors and to take feed barley away from board control.
“I think the governance issue is the biggest one and I’m concerned that if the board of directors are elected, they may be there to represent their own interests rather than the interests of the industry as a whole,” he said from his Prince Edward Island riding. “Running the wheat board should not be a popularity contest.”
He said Goodale should take his time and allow MPs to hear directly from farmers in public hearings.
“Ultimately, the people who have to make the decision on changes are MPs and we need more direct information about what producers want.”
From New Democrat Len Taylor will likely come another suggestion.
Goodale should use the existing wheat board advisory committee to analyze what will be in the best interests of grain farmers, Taylor said from Saskatchewan. It is important to figure out which of the problems in grain marketing can be fixed without undermining the board, he added.
If all that is not enough of a mixed message for Goodale, he will also be hearing some varying opinions from within the Reform caucus.
Benoit argued last week the panel proposals and Goodale’s decision to ask farmers for one last opinion on the options is already out-of-date.
“Alberta farmers already have decided they want freedom to choose both on wheat and barley,” he said. “That is not even a debate anymore. Mr. Goodale just should move to implement that.”
Manitoba’s Jake Hoeppner, on the other hand, said he was happy with the panel report.
It did not go as far as he would have, but it was a good start that Goodale should quickly accept and implement.
