Manitoba and Saskatchewan politicians cautiously welcomed new federal agriculture and transportation ministers from Eastern Canada last week.
The Alberta government did not respond by press time.
Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow said he does not know Lyle Vanclief, who has taken over agriculture from Regina’s Ralph Goodale, and he has some concerns about the direction Vanclief might take.
“I regret the loss of the agricultural portfolio especially, not to take anything away from the new appointee, but the emphasis away from wheat to vegetable and other aspects of agriculture, livestock, which is the Ontario direction certainly taken by this particular ministry,” Romanow told reporters.
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He said Ottawa can’t forget about wheat and the many issues surrounding it – diversification, transportation, subsidies and ongoing battles with the United States.
“I think Ralph Goodale’s presence in the Canadian Wheat Board is sufficient for me for the time being to temper my concerns,” he said, referring to the fact Goodale remains minister in charge of the board.
Manitoba agriculture minister Harry Enns said the decision to leave Goodale in that post is a signal of Ottawa’s continuing support for the wheat board.
He expects Goodale to reintroduce legislation to amend the board, which died on the order paper at the election call.
Interested in wheat board
“I don’t have a fight with the Canadian Wheat Board,” Enns said. “We are the ones that are being the most seriously impacted by the loss of the Crow. We insist, quite frankly, that we cannot be penalized twice” by paying full freight and imposing that same cost on the province’s millers.
He said perhaps leaving Goodale in place and continuing the grain marketing debate is the best solution for now.
But Saskatchewan Conservatives were less than thrilled with that prospect.
“We had Ralph Goodale for three-and-a-half-years and we lost the Crow rate and did nothing with the Canadian Wheat Board other than cause a lot of dissent and charge a few farmers who wanted to sell their own products,” said agriculture critic Dan D’Autremont.
Enns said he hopes Vanclief, with a background in supply-managed industries, understands the new post-Crow West.
“I express some reservations about the new minister fully appreciating just how fundamentally change has occurred,” he said.
He said Vanclief will be getting advice from the provincial agriculture ministers at their annual meeting July 3 and 4 in Trois Rivieres, Que. He expects a strong statement to be issued about last winter’s grain backlog, even though that falls under the area of the new transportation minister, David Collenette.
