WINNIPEG – The Canadian Wheat Board got its usual rough ride at the annual convention of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
The board was accused of hurting prairie farmers’ interests by lobbying to retain end-use certificates on U.S. wheat imports, of punishing those who disagree with it and of refusing to take criticism.
Wheat board officials invariably face tough questions from the wheat growers, an organization which supports deregulation and individual enterprise in grain marketing.
This year those complaints and criticisms received a sympathetic hearing from commissioner Ken Beswick, who before his appointment to the board last year was himself an outspoken critic of the marketing agency and supporter of the open market.
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For example, when wheat grower Jim Pallister of Portage la Prairie, Man., accused the board of punishing those who disagree with it and “quelling dissent” through its marketing and regulatory powers, Beswick offered no response.
Asked later by reporters if his silence indicated he agreed with Pallister, Beswick said only that it’s not a new charge.
Conduct not tolerated
“For years and years and years it has been suggested that the board penalizes or punishes those who don’t agree with it,” he said. “It’s not possible for a commissioner to know all of the operational details that go on in the board.”
But if he found it was happening, “I would not tolerate it. You should be able to suggest changes, you should be able to criticize, without being worried that you’re going to get beat up, that it’s going to cost you money, whether that’s us or somebody else.”
Beswick said the board is trying to be more open, by having representatives at farm meetings, seeking input from farmers, explaining policy decisions and providing more market information.
“We’re trying to be as open as possible without compromising our competitive position and we’re trying to recognize that there are widely differing needs, but legitimate nonetheless, among our clients.”
Agriculture minister Ralph Goodale told the wheat growers the wheat board has a “good, strong record” of serving farmers over the long term, but like any institution it can always do better. He said he would discuss some of the wheat growers’ criticisms with board commissioners.
On the issue of end-use certificates, wheat growers director Harvey McEwen told Beswick it is “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for the marketing agency to intervene in the debate.
The U.S. has said if Canada doesn’t drop end-use certificates on wheat moving north, it may impose them on Canadian wheat headed south.
McEwen, of Francis, Sask., said giving them up would help reduce cross-border trade tensions.
“It’s wrong for the wheat board to lobby on this issue because the end result will damage Canada,” he said.
Beswick said the board certainly doesn’t want the U.S. to impose end-use certificates, fearing the Americans would use them to block Canadian shipments. But at the same time, the board is reluctant to see them dropped in Canada because they are important in maintaining quality standards.
“It’s a judgment call,” said Beswick. “We realize there is a potential cost.”
