THERE will not be an election this year over the issue of whether the Conservative government can end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly over malt and export barley sales.
The Liberals will not allow it. But that is not to say the Conservatives will not dare the Liberals on the issue.
With Bill C-46, amendments to the CWB Act, likely to come up for debate in April after MPs return to Parliament Hill from their Easter break, it is a high possibility that the government will make this bill a priority.
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And the only hope the government has of forcing it to a vote before summer is to bring down the hammer of confidence in the government at every step of the process, from second reading and committee to final reading and the Senate.
Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has not tipped the government’s hand yet but it is hard to imagine this will not be a confidence matter.
In his seven months as minister, Ritz has proven himself a doer, not a talker.
All indications are that he has the prime minister on his side in forcing through agricultural issues and the wheat board monopoly has been an issue for Stephen Harper for years.
Last week, Ritz told delegates at the Canadian Horticultural Council annual meeting that he supports the push to create a “grown in Canada” label for food and there is no reason to think it cannot happen this year.
“I like to tell my bureaucrats I’m a results driven, not process driven guy,” he said. “I drive that point home all the time.”
Love him or hate him, Ritz is getting results. He has an agenda, grabs an issue, convinces the government to give him House of Commons time and gets things done.
His short time in office has been one of the most activist in recent memory – ethanol legislation, Canada Grain Act amendments, the imminent end of KVD standards, aid to livestock producers, CWB amendments.
He is a minister driven to accomplish as much as possible in the shortest time possible, damn the opponents and critics.
So it is impossible to imagine that he and Harper will not want to push CWB changes through Parliament in this minority Parliament before summer, the Aug. 1 crop year start and the next election.
And it is impossible to imagine the Liberals will resist.
Leader Stéphane Dion swallows himself whole every time he is called upon to hold the government to account, refusing to force an election on the budget, the environment or Afghanistan even as he condemns the government as one of the worst ever.
Last week, he said Canadians do not want an election during record snowfall in Ontario and Easter coming. I am not making this up.
Last week, he explained his refusal to defeat the budget by saying while it is bad, bad, bad “we’ll not vote against the budget to a point to make the government fall down.”
Speaking of falling down, it raises the image of the fainting goat breed that becomes paralyzed and falls over when scared. The paralysis is temporary. They recover to fall down another day.
If the CWB bill becomes confidence, count on the fainting Liberals to let it pass.
