Opposition MPs, whether they support or oppose orderly marketing, predict the federal government will not be able to deliver on its Aug. 19 promise to protect Canadian farm product marketing boards from their critics at upcoming world trade talks.
In fact, New Democrat Party agriculture critic Dick Proctor takes a dim view of the chances that the Canadian Wheat Board will survive the next round of World Trade Organization talks.
He accepts that Ottawa says it will defend the CWB and other orderly marketing systems when the hard bargaining begins next year in Geneva.
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He also notes that the Americans have said they consider the weakening of the CWB a key goal in these negotiations, slated to start after a launch Dec. 3 at Seattle.
“Let’s give the government the benefit of the doubt and believe their promise to defend orderly marketing,” Proctor said in an interview from Regina Aug. 20.
“I do not think they will be able to withstand the American pressure.
“My prediction is that the wheat board will not survive this round of talks and supply management will go down in the next round.”
More critics
Proctor was not alone in his skepticism. While praising the goal of eliminating export subsidies and reducing production-distorting domestic subsidies around the world, representatives of Reform and the Progressive Conservatives also had their criticisms.
Tory Rick Borotsik, at a party summer caucus in St. John’s, Nfld., said in an interview that Vanclief should not be so absolute in his promise to defend the wheat board. The PCs oppose the board’s monopoly powers.
“I’m surprised that Vanclief is being so strong on STEs (state trading enterprises),” said the Manitoba MP. “It is naive to think we are not going to have to give something on that. Negotiation is give and take, not just take.”
Alberta Reform MP Charlie Penson, his party’s trade critic, said in an interview from Peace River that the government should not invest much negotiating effort in defending protectionist supply management or trading monopolies like the CWB.
“We should be strong trade liberalizers,” he said. “To try to have it both ways just marginalizes us.”
Reform is a strong opponent of a monopoly, single-desk wheat board.
In fact, agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief did not promise the present powers of the CWB and supply management would emerge unscathed from the WTO talks.
