Is agriculture minister Ralph Goodale weakening in his efforts to defend the Canadian Wheat Board? Officially, the answer is no.
But recent comments indicate the minister has at times felt somewhat abandoned by pro-board farmers.
In exchanges with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool delegates last month, he warned them against complacency in the continuing debate over wheat board marketing powers:
“I think there have been occasions when those who might be inclined to be more supportive of the principles and practices of the Canadian Wheat Board may have been too complacent or taking a little bit too much for granted when the other side is out there battling tooth and nail.”
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Later, stung by a suggestion that he wasn’t being firm enough in promising to defend the board against such things as foreign pressure, Goodale shot back sharply:
“I want to tell you that on a number of days in the last two years I felt pretty lonely in that crusade.
“And it’s all very well and good to take a position within the comfortable confines of the convention hall.
“It’s another thing to go on the road publicly in every corner of this country and defend a policy position. I’ve done that, and on many days in defending the Canadian Wheat Board, I’ve done it alone.”
Those were strong words, and perhaps a warning that farmers who support the board’s system of single-desk selling and equitable price pools should speak out more themselves.
It might be tempting to take the approach, “let Ralph do it.” For one thing, he usually does it pretty well.
But that could be a recipe for disaster when the anti-board side remains active and the minister, rightly or wrongly, feels his natural allies aren’t pulling their share of the load.
But words aren’t enough. Almost everyone – including the board – feels prompt action is needed in implementing changes to the legislation governing the board.
Although there isn’t a solid consensus on the details of those changes, there is a general feeling that they will do much to enhance the board’s marketing flexibility, increase farmer influence, and at least partly appease some of the critics, domestic and foreign.
That’s why it was unfortunate the federal Liberal government didn’t give the changes sufficient priority to ensure they passed before Parliament adjourns this week. The delay probably means farmer-elected directors cannot be in place before the new crop year.
A good New Year’s resolution for Liberals would be to fix the legislative mess and get change under way soon.
