A voluntary Canadian Wheat Board would be good for the prairie economy and small business, says a lobby group for prairie small business.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said a survey of its members in Saskatchewan and Manitoba showed more than 60 percent support for dual marketing.
Results of the August survey were published Oct. 7, the day CWB reform legislation started in the House of Commons.
The legislation preserves the wheat board marketing monopoly for export wheat and barley, and domestic sales for human consumption.
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Marilyn Braun, the lobby’s Saskatchewan director, said giving farmers a choice in how they market their grain would encourage creation of new enterprise and wealth.
“It is clear that dual marketing would mean more healthy and vibrant provincial economies in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” she said in a news release.
In an interview Oct. 10, she said the opinion reflects the small business view that a greater choice of customers means a more competitive and prosperous business.
“The more alternatives you have for selling your product, the better off you are.”
End worry
Braun said the survey should end any political worry that non-farm businesses in the Prairies are uneasy about the economic implications of ending the wheat board monopoly.
Only one in eight Saskatoon businesses and one in seven Regina businesses surveyed support the CWB monopoly, she said.
