A group of prairie farmers lobbying for more public information about Canadian Wheat Board inner workings got a warmer reception from journalists in Toronto than politicians in Ottawa.
In the capital, they were dismissed by wheat board minister Ralph Goodale as ill-informed and ideologically-motivated and denounced by NDP spokesperson Dick Proctor as “conspiracy theorists.”
But in Toronto, a visit by members of The Committee to End Secrecy at the CWB to the editorial board of the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper produced some valuable free publicity.
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The day after their visit, the newspaper published an editorial denouncing Liberal “duplicity” on the wheat board issue and demanding the CWB reform legislation be scrapped in favor of a more open wheat board that offers farmers more marketing options.
The headline read: “Being too Liberal with the wheat board.”
Such support may impress board critics, but it drew a laugh from Goodale.
He suggested if the Globe writers had read his legislation, they would have found most of their concerns addressed.
“This remote, idle speculation from 444 Front Street … it’s just so out of whack,” he said.
But does opposition from the influential newspaper increase pressure on the government to compromise on Bill C-4?
“Coming from The Globe and Mail, absolutely not.”
