Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz last week withdrew his accusation the Canadian Wheat Board was “stealing” farmers’ money for an advertising campaign after the board chair threatened legal action.
“This word was only used figuratively and I retract it,” Ritz said in a statement Nov. 11, a day after an earlier statement drew the reaction from Allen Oberg.
The kerfuffle began when the minister’s office issued a statement in which he said Oberg would have to “justify why he is stealing an additional $1.4 million of farmers’ money on baseless propaganda in eastern newspapers.”
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In a speech to Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities delegates the same day in Regina, he made similar comments, telling them the government was working with industry to improve it while “others are wasting farmers’ time and money on baseless court cases and reckless propaganda.”
He said he couldn’t understand why the CWB would spend money to advertise in the Ontario edition of The Globe and Mail,on top of money it has already spent.
“Not much ticks a western Canadian farmer off more than somebody’s self-interested sticky fingers in their pocketbook,” Ritz said.
Oberg responded with a statement of his own, saying the comments were irresponsible, slanderous and unworthy of a cabinet minister.
“This is another glaring example of the bullying tactics that this government consistently employs,” he said. “My sole motivation is to act in the best interests of the farmers of Western Canada – of which I am one.”
He called on Ritz to retract his statement and said he was considering legal action.
The minister’s retraction was not an admission he was wrong.
“It remains our government’s belief that money from the pool accounts is being used for purposes outside the CWB’s mandate,” he added.
The latest exchange highlights the duel between those who favour getting rid of the board’s export monopoly and those who would like to keep it.
While Ritz found a generally sympathetic crowd at the SARM meeting, judging by the applause at his remarks, some delegates are clearly unhappy with him.
Duane Filson, from the RM of Wood River, said too many questions remain unanswered. The impact of the change must be examined, he said, and the government is ignoring a legal obligation to give farmers a vote.
“What’s your rush?” he said “Can’t we do this is an orderly way?”
Ritz said the government is not obliged to have a vote and that three out of four western provinces support what Ottawa is doing.
“You as a supporter of the board will still have a board to support,” he told Filson.
Other countries are “eating our lunch” when it comes to some commodities, Ritz added.
“The only thing we did wrong was not doing it sooner,” he said.
The minister also took aim at NDP agriculture critic Malcolm Allen who met with some farmers in Regina last week.
He said the MP from Welland, Ont., is not a grain farmer and shouldn’t be telling western farmers how to market their grain.
Meanwhile, Ritz did announce that a $50 million Agricultural Innovation Program, announced in the 2011 budget, was ready to accept applications.
The program will help entrepreneurs take ideas to commercial use. Ritz said too many good ideas wither on the vine because of a lack of capital.
“We want to make sure that things that pertain to agriculture that are held stagnant now for lack of commercialization have access to funds,” he told reporters.
The program runs until March 31, 2013.
