REGINA – The Saskatchewan agriculture department has no business spending taxpayers’ money on an advertising campaign to promote one side of the grain marketing debate, the provincial Tories said last week.
The government ran a full-page ad in The Western Producer and Saskatchewan weeklies last week.
The ad contained information about why the government thinks dual marketing, where farmers could sell grain to the Canadian Wheat Board or on the open market, would destroy the wheat board. It also included a clip-out form for board supporters to fill in and return to provincial agriculture minister Eric Upshall.
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Tory leader Bill Boyd said Upshall apparently wants to hear only from board supporters on this issue. He said the government should have spent its money on a producer plebiscite, as the Alberta government did when it got involved.
“We would like to see them ask the producers of Saskatchewan what their view is with respect to the Canadian Wheat Board, not have a full-page ad in newspapers all across Saskatchewan telling farmers that they should support the Canadian Wheat Board and that they shouldn’t be speaking out against it,” Boyd told reporters.
But Upshall said a plebiscite is not necessary and last week’s rally in Rosetown, Sask. proves that fact.
“There were 1,700 people inside supporting the board and there were about 17 outside wanting to destroy the board. Why do you need a plebiscite?”
Upshall said the advertising money is worth it if he can preserve the top prices the board earns for farmers.
The wheat board is the only agency allowed to sell western Canadian grown wheat and barley, although feed barley can be sold on the open market within Canada.
“The wheat board is no longer negotiable,” he said. “I’m drawing a line in the sand and saying no more and I’ll stand up and I’ll spend taxpayers dollars doing it in order to keep that $300 million in the pockets of farmers.”
Upshall said he is prepared to go as far as necessary to maintain the board.
He has met with federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale to state his position. He also said premier Roy Romanow has sent a letter to prime minister Jean ChrŽtien indicating the government’s support for the wheat board.
