Grain Growers of Canada is a strong critic of the Canadian Wheat Board,
but it has joined the chorus of Canadians denouncing the latest U.S.
legal assault against the grain marketer.
“I find it incredible that the U.S. government is allowed to continue
to proceed like this, to continue to harass the board,” GGC president
Ken Bee said Nov. 19 when he told the group’s annual meeting about the
latest U.S. International Trade Commission decision to investigate the
Read Also
Organic farmers urged to make better use of trade deals
Organic growers should be singing CUSMA’s praises, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
board.
“Changes to the marketing system of the board should be made here, by
Canadians through an internal debate,” Bee said in an interview.
“It should not come from this kind of foreign harassment.”
For once, CWB chair Ken Ritter found himself agreeing with one of his
highest profile opponents. He said the U.S. should stop its seemingly
never-ending investigations that cost money and time but have not found
CWB wrongdoing
“I believe we will win this again because we are not subsidizing, we
are not dumping,” he said in an interview. “But it is disappointing
that this is happening again.”
Ritter, who attended the GGC meeting, said defending the board against
U.S. allegations will cost $5 to $10 million.
“That money clearly could be put to better use.”
Even CWB minister Ralph Goodale noted that while the role of the board
remains controversial in Canada, “nobody thinks this kind of harassment
is appropriate, neither supporters nor opponents.”
Federal politicians at the meeting quickly took sides.
New Democrat Dick Proctor, a strong board supporter, said nobody should
be surprised by the U.S. decision.
“I fully expected it because that’s the way they operate,” he said. “If
you’re not doing it their way, you are not doing it right. Like someone
in Prince Edward Island told the agriculture committee, ‘under the free
trade deal, the U.S. has rights and Canada has obligations.’ “
Progressive Conservative MP Rick Borotsik said the problem is that the
Liberal government has let relations with the U.S. deteriorate so much
that these disputes cannot be headed off.
“The prime minister should be able to call the White House to try to
work out some deal,” he said. “This prime minister cannot do that.”
Canadian Alliance MP and wheat board critic David Anderson was the only
one to imply that Canada should deal with American complaints by
conceding the point and changing the way the wheat board works.
He said the Liberal government and the CWB are giving grain farmers a
false sense of security that this 10th ITC investigation will end in
Canadian victory as the first nine did.
