LAKE LOUISE, Alta. (Staff) – Federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale and wheat board commissioner Richard Klassen deny any board interference in last fall’s advisory committee elections.
Accusations against the board were made by some of the 300 delegates at the annual Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association convention.
They complained Canadian Wheat Board staff and commissioners used the media and public meetings to sway opinion and defend the grain selling agency during the election of advisory committee members last fall. None of the candidates endorsed by the wheat growers association won.
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Jim Pallister, of Portage la Prairie, Man., said: “I want to congratulate the wheat board on choosing its own advisory committee. This illustrates quite nicely that the wheat board is of some farmers, by some farmers and for some farmers.”
Inappropriate attendance suggested
Pallister said it was inappropriate for wheat board commissioners to attend meetings during the election, publish items about the debate to reform the board and hold a press conference the day the ballots came out.
Wally Meili, of Courval, Sask., told Goodale to “please tell this group (wheat board) that you would like them in future to stick to the business of selling our grain and stay out of the political realm.
Maintaining status quo
“Much to the frustration of most (of) us in this room, the commissioners and people who work for the board were very political and spent our money to promote the position of the board which was just the status quo.”
Goodale said he asked the commissioners about their activities during the elections and was told every meeting the wheat board attended was in response to a specific request from a farm group to speak.
Klassen also denied the board spent any money on policy meetings or lobbying to influence voters.
“We didn’t participate in any of the debate in that area,” Klassen said.
Goodale said the accountability of the board is one of the issues that must be discussed during this winter’s grain marketing forum.
