The National Citizens’ Coalition and Prairie Alliance for the Future lead the way in third party spending in the campaign to elect directors for the Canadian Wheat Board.
PAF, a collection of farmers who support the CWB monopoly, has spent an estimated $5,000 on ads that will be running in The Western Producer and Manitoba Co-operator. The National Citizens’ Coalition has already spent “thousands” on radio advertisements running in three western cities and on a billboard outside of wheat board minister Ralph Goodale’s constituency office in Regina.
The coalition intends to step up its campaign, exceeding the third party spending limit set out by the federal government.
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“We will be spending more than the $10,000 which has been set out by Ralph Goodale,” said coalition spokesperson Gerry Nicholls.
National Farmers Union president Nettie Wiebe said she is appalled by the Citizens’ Coalitions’ “flagrant disregard” of the regulations. “Frankly, we think the federal government should pursue that,” said Wiebe.
Working on a meagre budget, the NFU’s advertising campaign has been restricted to a half-page ad in a free publication distributed to western Canadian farms.
“We have had efforts that are far more modest than we would like to be able to have,” said Wiebe. “If our finances allowed, we’d like to intervene mightily.”
The NFU is one of two farm groups to endorse specific candidates. In its newsletter, Union Farmer, the NFU lists its first choice in the 10 districts, followed by a mention of other pro-CWB candidates in each district.
PAF is endorsing seven candidates it feels are strong board champions.
“The candidates that we are supporting have a history of actual support rather than the rhetoric of support,” said spokesperson Ken Sigurdson.
The wheat pools are making a concerted effort to remain neutral. Manitoba Pool Elevators and Alberta Wheat Pool are playing no role at all. Saskatchewan Wheat Pool has been involved in setting up candidate debates, but has taken no position on which candidates to support.
Keystone Agricultural Producers, a Manitoba general farm lobby group, and Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, a small farm interest group in Alberta, have limited involvement to organizing candidates meetings. KAP is co-ordinating seven meetings in Manitoba and Wild Rose is putting on 15 candidate forums in Alberta in conjunction with Dow Agro Sciences.
KAP originally wanted the Manitoba meetings to be a joint effort with the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, but canned that idea when the wheat growers became more involved in the process.
“They are obviously taking a policy stance during the election,” said KAP president Don Dewar.
Wheat grower president Larry Maguire said his association does not endorse individual candidates, but has pointed out a slate of those who favor a voluntary wheat board. Maguire said the association is not assisting with the Manitoba debates because it doesn’t want to appear to be focusing on certain districts.
