FOR A rookie government that has done a remarkably good job of controlling the message and keeping it focused, the Conservative communications performance on the Canadian Wheat Board issue has been little short of astonishing.
On one of its key agricultural files with national consequences, the Conservatives dropped the public relations ball.
They ceded the stage to their opponents, who have largely succeeded in setting the ground rules for the public debate.
The Conservatives largely failed to explain themselves, to defend their position, and to recognize that this is not just a conversation among like-minded people but a debate about a public policy that has deep and emotional reactions on both sides of the questions.
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Most devastating for the Conservatives is that their opponents have been able to frame it as a question of democracy rather than a debate about the merits of the wheat board monopoly.
The Conservatives have dug a public relations hole far deeper than was necessary.
Let’s review the sequence of events.
On July 13, the government caught most industry people by surprise by announcing that on July 27, invited “experts” who share the government’s view that the wheat board monopoly should be ended would meet privately with government representatives.
Any communications adviser worth her salt would have spotted several flash points in the announcement that needed to be addressed: 1) Why just speak to fellow travellers? 2) Who will be invited? 3) Will farmers have a say? 4) When did farmers decide they wanted to get rid of the monopoly, as the Canadian Wheat Board Act says they should do before any moves are made?
From a Conservative point of view, there are answers to all those questions. They certainly wouldn’t satisfy critics and CWB defenders but they would put the government’s position forward and allow those who haven’t already made up their minds to weigh both sides.
The answers could include:
1) This is a first meeting and since the government has decided to end the monopoly, only those with ideas on how that could be done are being invited for the first discussion. Why invite people who will spend the day debating the monopoly issue? The government has decided.
2) The list of invitees has not been finished. Here are some early names and the rest will be published. This isn’t a secret meeting, just a private one.
3) The government has not yet decided how farmers will have a say but there will be consultation.
4) The Conservative party and its predecessors have long stood for a voluntary CWB and in 2006 virtually all affected prairie ridings voted Conservative. But a final decision on farmer consultation has not been made. But instead of explaining and defending, the government went underground until July 21.
Critics, no slouches at PR, had a field day and defined the public debate as a question of democracy, respect for the law, respect for the elected CWB board of directors and Conservative closed-minded arrogance.
It is far from clear where majority opinion lies on this question but in the days leading to the meeting and the counter rally, the critics won the PR war.
It could have been a more even fight.
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