Ralph Goodale wishes all of his decisions turned out as well as the one
four years ago to put Greg Arason in charge of the newly restructured
Canadian Wheat Board.
The federal cabinet minister responsible for the board says time has
proven that Arason was the right person for the job.
“Greg had a huge task to perform and he performed it exceptionally
well,” Goodale said.
Arason is retiring Dec. 31 after four years as president and chief
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executive officer of the board and a career of nearly 33 years in the
grain industry.
It’s hard to find anyone who will say anything negative about the
56-year-old Arason, whose friendly, easy-going manner won him many
friends and admirers.
In interviews last week, he was variously described as unflappable, a
straight-shooter, honest and straightforward, easy to get along with,
respectful of others, someone you could disagree and argue with in a
meeting and then join for a friendly round of golf.
“I’ve always found him to be a gentleman,” said Ed Guest, who as
manager of the Western Grain Elevators Association battled with the
board over grain transportation rules.
“He was honourable, he had integrity and he worked hard.”
Canadian National Railway vice-president Ross Goldsworthy said while
Arason was a committed advocate for the board during negotiations, he
wasn’t dogmatic or inflexible.
He was always able to separate the business side of the grain industry
from the politics and played a big role in smoothing out relations
between the board and railways and grain companies.
“Things are absolutely better from CN’s perspective and Greg gets a lot
of the credit for that,” he said.
Gordon Cummings, former chief executive officer of Agricore, said
Arason has the ability to identify the common ground and the potential
for compromise on difficult and divisive issues.
With Arason’s background of growing up on a farm, working his way up to
chief executive officer at Manitoba Pool Elevators and then taking over
at the board, he was able to understand all sides of an issue.
“He was good at brokering people to come to solutions when everyone
else is getting mad at one another,” said Cummings.
“You always felt with him if there was a deal or a solution to be
found, he would find it.”
