THE MINORITY federal Conservative government never misses a chance to proclaim its intention to end the Canadian Wheat Board marketing monopoly.
“The government remains committed to finding a way to allow western Canadian farmers to sell their wheat and barley to any foreign or domestic buyer, including the CWB,” Agriculture Canada said in a recent response to a Commons agriculture committee recommendation that farmer-controlled orderly marketing institutions be supported.
So it is not a question of if, but rather when and how. The how has been the most complicated question for the government, at least until now.
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Suddenly, in this strange 39th Parliament, there may be a way for the government to win legislative change to the CWB Act if it really wants to make the board issue a priority and take a calculated risk. In fact, it would have little or nothing to lose.
First, let’s review the problem the Conservatives have faced since February 2006 when they took office with a promise to end the monopoly.
Voters handed them a minority Parliament in which only Conservatives support an end to the monopoly. Legislative changes to the CWB Act have been deemed impossible unless the western rooted Conservatives made an unsavoury deal with the Bloc Québécois to undermine a prairie institution.
And the court has said legislative rather than regulatory change is the only way, barring a successful appeal.
So if you are a Conservative strategist, what is to be done?
The simple answer is: go for it. Introduce legislation, declare it a matter of confidence, since it flows from the throne speech, and see what the opposition does.
Presumably, the NDP and BQ immediately would declare it unacceptable.
The Liberals also would believe that but what they believe these days and what they do in Parliament are not always the same.
The Liberals are in a crisis of leadership, organization, finances and popularity.
Although they denounced the throne speech that opened the parliamentary session and ridiculed the government’s mini-budget last week filled with tax cuts that favour the rich, the Liberal caucus abstained on both votes.
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion gamely argued that the Liberals are doing Canadians a favour by postponing an election most don’t want. He presumably means Liberal Canadians (and maybe BQ Canadians, if such a term is not too offensive to them) because Conservatives and New Democrats appear raring to go.
The body language behind Dion’s explanation tells a different story: weakness, election fear and uncertainty.
Would Liberals who have little to gain electorally in the CWB designated area really trigger an election by bringing down the Conservatives on the monopoly issue?
It seems unlikely but it would be a huge land mine for the party to sidestep and a huge challenge to Dion’s leadership. Could he really convince Wayne Easter and Ralph Goodale to abstain on a CWB vote?
And if the Conservatives lost the gamble and the Liberals voted the government down, the election would be on.
It would not be good news for farmers who support the board but if they really want to do it, the Conservatives may well have the winning conditions before them.
