The Canadian Wheat Board sent its senior officials to Parliament Hill last week to plead both for reform and maintenance of its marketing monopoly powers.
They asked the Senate agriculture committee to quickly approve government reform legislation so it can get through Parliament.
“I think it is time to move,” chief commissioner Lorne Hehn said. “If we don’t move soon, the group that would like to see the wheat board system gone or weakened will gain momentum.”
But Hehn argued any changes should preserve the board monopoly over wheat and barley exports and sales for human consumption.
Read Also
Rented farmland jumps 3.4 million acres in Saskatchewan and Alberta
Farmland rented or leased in the two provinces went from 25.7 million acres in 2011 to 29.1 million in 2021, says Census of Agriculture data.
A dual market or an opt-out similar to what is planned for the Ontario Wheat Board would effectively end the monopoly and the CWB advantage, he said.
Hehn took direct aim at some of the board’s most vocal critics, including United Grain Grower’s president Ted Allen, who replaced Hehn as head of the company.
“The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, despite what my former colleague Mr. Allen tends to say out West,” the chief commissioner said.
He said the wheat board is a vital link between prairie grain farmers and the world, comparing it to the keystone that holds up every stone arch.
“The wheat board has been the keystone to the farmers’ archway to world markets,” said Hehn.
He began the April 21 session with senators, which lasted more than three hours, by insisting he was not there as a political advocate.
“Our purpose here is not to sway opinion,” he said. “It is to give you information.”
But then with senior board staff, Hehn proceeded to try to sway By insisting the critics have it wrong:
opinion
- A dual market or an opt out for individual farmers would not work.
- The board’s monopoly works for farmers by extracting premium prices and servicing a complicated network of world markets.
- Despite criticism senators heard during western hearings, the wheat board does not hurt prairie grain processing.
- Organic growers who argue they want to have their wheat and barley outside the board because the board does not want to market their product are wrong. The board would sell organic grain at a premium if it could be assured of sufficient volumes to meet contract demands.
Hehn and his officials were aggressive and personal in their defence of the board, asking senators to pay special heed to the Winnipeg testimony of National Farmers Union member and board supporter Don Tait.
“He represents the concerns of the silent majority of farmers who haven’t been speaking out much,” said Hehn.
At the same time, they spent part of their presentation trying to undermine the complaints of some of their critics.
They said the deep divisions among farmers on the wheat board issue upsets them. They are unhappy to see farmers so desperate they will break the law to sell across the border.
“It gives us a great deal of distress at the wheat board,” said value-added specialist Earl Geddes.
Yet he insisted that much of the opposition comes because of wrong or misleading information about the board.
Hehn urged senators to move quickly so farm voters can elect a majority of the board of directors.
But he also said they should recognize that the anti-monopoly lobby is a “vocal minority” whose agenda would hurt other farmers most.
