Just before 1 p.m. June 11, the National Citizens’ Coalition sent out its latest diatribe against Canadian Wheat Board minister Ralph Goodale.
Even for the humorless Goodale, known for loathing the NCC, the fax might have produced a small smile.
It was ironic. The NCC, in its campaign to fight the wheat board monopoly, sent along a new billboard image – in the name “Goodale,” handcuffs replaced the ‘o’s. The message was: “Selling Wheat Shouldn’t be a Crime.”
Within the hour, Goodale’s CWB reform legislation made it through the House of Commons after a tortured three-year journey.
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For the long-suffering Saskatchewan minister, that hour probably represented the taking off of handcuffs. The NCC image may have signalled a good thing.
Passage of C-4 may free Goodale to leave the CWB portfolio. Ottawa rumors last week had Winnipeg MP John Harvard becoming minister of state for the wheat board.
Either way, getting C-4 into law was the end of a three-year trip to the dentist for Goodale and the industry.
What could go wrong did go wrong.
He proposed changes to give farmers more control over the wheat board, including a board of directors two-thirds elected by farmers.
Opponents of the board monopoly predictably said it was too little. To Goodale’s great frustration, monopoly supporters largely stayed in the weeds, quietly vowing fidelity but publicly allowing the debate to rage while expecting Goodale and the board to defend themselves.
He was at times done in by his own caution, waiting too long to act, consulting too much when western divisions clearly were unchangeable and wasting valuable time to put the issue behind him.
He was at times done in by his own government and its lack of priority for agriculture. The bill was in the last Parliament but died when an early election was called. It was one of the first pieces of legislation introduced in the new Parliament last autumn but then languished with little urgency in the agenda.
Goodale’s self-imposed deadlines kept slipping past. Opposition grew louder.
The Senate got hold of it, held extensive hearings and made amendments which jeopardized its passage through Parliament in time for fall elections.
Sent back from the Senate, Liberal Commons planners seemed to take their time calling it for the final debate.
Finally, last week, it was called but even then there was a foul- up. The government House Leader put the wrong notice on the daily schedule of parliamentary business last Thursday and unless the Opposition agreed, C-4 could not be called for a vote last week before the Commons adjourned for the summer.
Opposition MPs opposed the bill but agreed to allow the vote. Once more, Goodale came close to missing a deadline.
On Goodale’s Parliament Hill book shelves sit two texts about the modern era: The Age of Unreason and The Age of Paradox. During the wheat board debate, he saw both. Whether farmers like Goodale’s amendments or not, they must respect his perseverance.
