Less than 12 hours after finishing middle-of-the-night combining on his 3,000 acre Peace River grain farm Oct. 16, the newest Canadian Grain Commission member was considering whether conflict-of-interest rules mean he will have to give up some of his role in the three-generation family farm.
“I don’t think it will affect it but really all this has happened so fast I’ll have to see what happens,” Jim Smolik said in an Oct. 16 interview from his Dawson Creek, B.C., farm.
“I will follow whatever rules have to be followed.”
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He begins his three year appointment as assistant chief commissioner of the CGC Nov. 12 after the Nov. 11 retirement of former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool executive and five year assistant chief commissioner Terry Harasym.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz appointed Smolik Oct. 12 after a job search committee recommended him for the job. The chief commissioner position remains vacant after the end of Chris Hamblin’s term this month.
Smolik has spent more than 30 years in the grain farming business and is a former president of the British Columbia Grain Producers’ Association and Grain Growers of Canada.
The other recently appointed CGC commissioner is Cam Dahl, a former executive director of Grain Growers of Canada.
Smolik said he looks forward to joining the commission when big changes are in the works.
The House of Commons agriculture committee earlier this year recommended major changes to the Canada Grains Act and the Canadian Grain Commission. Legislation to enact at least some of those recommendations is expected in the session of Parliament that opened Oct. 16.
“The farm industry has evolved and if you looked at a farm now compared to 10 years ago, you might not recognize it,” Smolik said.
“The grain industry has evolved. Transportation has evolved so I think it is important that regulators like the grain commission evolve as well.”
Among changes recommended are an end to kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) as a requirement for new variety registrations and a change in the governance of the grain commission to replace the existing commissioner system with a more corporate governance structure.
During his time as president of Grain Growers of Canada, the group supported both recommendations.
“I still say that KVD costs farmers money and we are the only country that still requires it so I would have to be convinced (that removing KVD) is not a good idea.”
Smolik said the challenge of being a grain commission leader in a time of transition is exciting.
“I believe as the industry evolves the commission must evolve and as a country that exports 40 to 50 million tonnes a year, we have to keep up with what the world expects,” he said.
“There is the food-fuel debate, new varieties, new market requirements. It will be an exciting time to be part of that.”
Smolik’s appointment is the latest manifestation of the B.C. Grain Producers’ Association as an incubator for national leaders.
Grain Growers of Canada president Ross Ravelli is a graduate of the organization.
Conservative government House of Commons whip Jay Hill, a 14-year MP, is a former president.
