Prairie grain farmers are about to get a much-anticipated look inside
the Canadian Wheat Board.
The federal auditor general has completed its first ever audit of the
grain marketing agency.
The report was to be presented to the CWB’s board of directors this
week and then released to the public at a Winnipeg news conference.
It is expected to provide farmers with more information than they’ve
ever had about how the board sells their grain and manages and accounts
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
for their money.
CWB chair Ken Ritter urged all farmers to read the report and reach
their own conclusions about whether the board is doing a good job.
And he expressed confidence that those who take a fair-minded approach
will be pleased with what they read.
“I’ve always been quite confident the board has been above board and
following accepted business principles,” he said an interview before
the report was released.
“When people have an opportunity to read the report and think about it
a little bit, I’m sure they’ll agree the CWB is a pretty good
organization.”
One thing the auditor general won’t do is comment on whether farmers
benefit from having a single desk selling agency, an issue that was
specifically excluded from the review’s terms of reference.
The CWB’s board of directors asked the auditor general in the spring of
2000 to undertake the one-time review in response to criticism from
some farmers who said the agency is too secretive.
Some of those critics have wondered aloud whether the board uses
questionable accounting or financial management practices to hide
inefficient or improper activities.
The auditor general has put the board under a microscope during the
past year and half, doing a thorough examination of virtually every
aspect of its operations.
In addition to financial accounting and reporting systems, the
examination included an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness
of selected management systems and practices.
It looked at issues such as whether sales returns to farmers are being
maximized through effective marketing strategies, whether grain
delivery and transportation programs are being carried out in an
efficient and cost-efficient way and whether pool accounts are being
properly maintained.
It also examined the effectiveness of the board’s risk management
strategies and the degree of accountability and transparency to farmers.
Ritter said he expects the report will contain some criticisms and
suggest some changes in the way the board does business.
“They obviously will have recommendations and no one would be so
foolish as to just ignore those recommendations,” he said.
“This is like the Supreme Court of accounting and business acumen.”
Some board critics said last week they were looking forward to the
auditor general’s report. But they also said they didn’t expect it to
deal with all their concerns about CWB operations.
Art Enns, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association,
said he hopes the board will make changes as a result of the audit but
he expressed concern that the terms of reference for the review were
too narrow.
“A lot of the questions and issues we have raised were not part of this
inquiry,” he said, citing his organization’s concerns about CWB
borrowing practices.
“Until we see it, we don’t know what’s in there, but early indications
are not a whole lot will come out of it.”
Regardless of what the report says, he added, the wheat growers will
continue to be a thorn in the board’s side.
“We ask the hard questions,” he said. “That’s our role, holding the
board accountable and acting like the voice of the opposition like we
have in government.”
Howard Hilstrom, Canadian Alliance MP from Manitoba, said there are
still many farmers who don’t trust the board, and the auditor general’s
report probably won’t change that.
“It will be a mundane report, but it is a positive step,” he said,
adding he hopes the board asks for a similar audit every three or four
years.
Ritter said he doesn’t expect the auditor general’s report to silence
“hard-core” critics who are philosophically opposed to the board.
“They’ll still level accusations at us,” he said.
“They may be unfounded and unfair but I’m sure there will be a few
individuals who will find fault again.”
