There is no shortage of daunting challenges facing the Canadian grain industry.
One of the biggest seems to be trying to get Chuck Strahl and the Canadian Wheat Board in the same room to talk about the board’s future.
The board and Strahl have met just twice since he took office as agriculture and CWB minister in February – a 30-minute get-acquainted session in Winnipeg shortly after his appointment, and an hour-long session in Ottawa in April devoted mainly to World Trade Organization issues.
Strahl says he wants to meet with the board and the board says it wants to meet with the minister, but as of last week, no such meeting had been arranged.
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It’s not as if they would have nothing to talk about.
Strahl is proceeding with plans to bring in a dual market, and says he wants input from the board.
The board says it’s anxious to talk to the minister about its proposal for a major restructuring and expansion of the board’s role, including retaining the single desk.
Strahl has said he’s not interested in having a discussion involving the single desk, but the board says there shouldn’t be preconditions.
“We don’t want to get together with the minister just to talk about our vision or just to talk about his vision,” said CWB spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry.
“We want to have a chance to sit down and have a full and meaningful discussion about the future of the wheat board.”
Strahl was not available for an interview last week. His parliamentary secretary David Anderson said he has had several meetings with senior CWB officials and a meeting between the minister and board will happen.
“Obviously we’re at the point now where we need to continue those discussions and sit down and sort out where we’re going to go,” Anderson said, adding that maintenance of the single desk will not be on the table.
The board’s proposal, which was given to Strahl in April, calls for restructuring the board into a not-for-profit grain marketing organization with single desk powers along with a subsidiary for-profit corporation that could invest in such things as value-added processing and grain handling.
The CWB would ask for $1.5 billion in seed money from Ottawa in return for giving up government-backed financial guarantees. It would be farmer-owned and controlled.
The changes would have to be approved by a farmer plebiscite.
Anderson said the board’s document contains some interesting ideas that could possibly be part of its future as a voluntary marketing agency, but that doesn’t include the single desk.
“They’ve included the single desk in this, but I think they understand that’s not going to be an option,” he said. “I’m assuming this is the beginning of their presentation of where they want to see us go.”
The proposal got a friendlier reaction from most farm groups.
Officials with Keystone Agricultural Producers and Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan said they thought the board’s plan would be well-received by farmers.
“I think it’s reasonable to look at that,” said KAP executive Dick Chorney. “It’s good to see the board looking to the future and for ways to add value and improve farmers’ bottom line.”
APAS president Ken McBride said there’s no question farmers need to have more ownership.
“It’s about farmer control and farmer ownership and that’s important,” he said, adding any change must be approved by farmers.
National Farmers Union president Stewart Wells said anything that gives farmers more power in the marketplace is a good idea, but he’s concerned about the idea of totally breaking ties with government, especially in the area of financial guarantees.
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association rejected the board’s plan, saying existing grain handlers and processors shouldn’t have to compete with a legislated monopoly with $1.5 billion in government money.
The proposal was criticized by the Western Grain Elevators Association on similar grounds.
“For a monopoly competitor to be created through legislation is fundamentally unfair,” said WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich, adding the board is trying to pit farmers against grain companies in its campaign against a dual market.
CWB chief executive officer Adrian Measner denied that, saying he sees nothing contentious about enabling farmers to invest further up the value chain to generate higher earnings.
