Peter Eckersley expects to receive a lot of mail this December.
The co-ordinator for the Canadian Wheat Board directors election thinks there will be a strong voter turnout.
“I believe that a response rate of 70 percent plus is feasible,” he said.
That would be a dramatic increase from two years ago, when 43 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the inaugural wheat board election.
Eckersley, who works in the Brandon office of the accounting firm Meyers Norris Penny, said one his priorities as election co-ordinator is to make farmers more aware of the election than last time.
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
Farmers will be sent a detailed information package along with their ballot and will be able to call a toll- free information line at 877-500-1795 or log on to the election website at www.cwbelection.com to find out about the rules, the process and the candidates.
Eckersley added that the experience of the past two years should have convinced most farmers that it does matter who gets elected to the board.
“I think there was some skepticism about the whole process last time around,” he said.
“Hopefully, people will now realize that if you want to make changes, you do it from within.”
Another goal is to ensure that farmers understand how the voters list is put together and how voter eligibility is determined.
As part of that effort, all “actual producers” as listed in wheat board permit books will be sent a letter in October asking them to correct any errors contained in the official voters list.
“We want to put a little bit of the onus back on the producer to say, ‘this is as accurate as we’ve got it, can you correct it at all?’ “
That should eliminate the kind of situation where a ballot is mailed to a producer’s deceased parent, he said.
The nomination period officially opened last week and will run until Oct. 30.
Ballots will be sent to about 72,000 permit book holders on Nov. 10 and must be returned by Dec. 7. The votes will be counted Dec. 15-16, with the results announced Dec. 18.
Even districts only
Elections are being held in the board’s five even-numbered districts. Directors up for re-election include Jim Chatenay in District 2, board chair Ken Ritter in District 4, Ian McCreary in District 6, Terry Hanson in District 8 and Butch Harder in District 10.
To run for election, candidates must sign a conflict of interest disclosure, as well as an official acknowledgement that they have read and will abide by the duties of a director as outlined in the CWB Act and the board of directors’ code of conduct.
That includes the contentious clause that a director’s primary responsibility is to act in the best interests of the wheat board corporation, rather than the wishes of those who elected them.
Some potential candidates have objected to signing such a document, arguing that a director’s primary responsibility should be to the voters.
Eckersley said he has advised them that the phrase “best interests of the corporation” is vague enough that it can be defined by the board of directors, and if elected they can raise that issue once in office.
He has also told candidates they are required by law to sign.
“If you’re not prepared to sign it, you can’t be a candidate. Take your choice.”
Incumbent directors will also be bound by a code of conduct preventing them from using their office to promote their candidacy. That means they can’t use wheat board allowances, facilities or services to advance their campaign.
They are also barred from representing the wheat board at external public meetings or acting as a spokesperson for the organization during the election period, unless specifically requested to do so by the board, and prohibited from making statements that are “inflammatory, defamatory or intended to undermine the reputation of the corporation.”
Eckersley said there is no intention to muzzle incumbent directors.
“It’s simply a recognition that incumbent directors theoretically have an advantage and this has been adopted by the board to minimize that aspect of the whole process.”
