Few agricultural issues in Western Canada are as political as those
surrounding the Canadian Wheat Board. And it has always been so, it
seems.
Our front page story this week, plus related stories and photos in this
issue, amply illustrate the depth and variance of farmer emotion and
political philosophies relating to the board.
Last week the Producer brought news that 22 farmers will be running for
five positions on the board – part of the alternate year election
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process that sees 10 of the 15 board directors elected by CWB permit
book holders.
It’s a healthy slate of candidates. Those eligible to vote may already
have received their ballots, which were to be mailed Nov. 3. They have
until Dec. 5 to return their votes.
We hope that Western Producer coverage in the election period will
provide voters with information to assist them in making informed
choices on their ballots.
In addition to covering election news as it arises, we will be running
candidate profiles of all 22 contenders in the Nov. 14 issue. The
profiles will include biographical sketches of each candidate and each
will be asked to respond to the same questions: 1) Monopoly – should
the board retain its monopoly? 2) Flexibility – do board pricing
options allow farmers enough choices? Do the options go too far? Should
the board go further, and if so, how? 3) Accountability – Does the
board supply enough information to farmers and the public? Does the
candidate trust the board to act in farmers’ interests? 4) Policy –
does the board have a role to play in speaking out on policy issues
such as transportation, rail and grain company competition and farm
income support? Or should it stick strictly to the job of selling grain?
Other Western Producer coverage will include features on each district
involved in the election, and more space in coming weeks will be
devoted to letters on wheat board issues. In weeks leading up to the
nomination deadline, we delayed publication of letters written by
potential candidates. We didn’t want to give or appear to give unfair
advantage to any individual.
Now that the full slate is declared, readers have knowledge of the
candidates and can assess letters accordingly.
There’s one more aspect in our efforts to provide a forum for exchange
of election information and ideas. Our website at www.producer.com will
have the above information, links to related sites and an area for
readers to write their views, read comments from others and respond to
questions about wheat board issues.
