Contentious issues over the selling of grain in Canada

Manny Everett 

Times Contributor

 

When East Wheatland farmers were asked what their thoughts were on the recent decisions of the federal government’s decision to remove the monopoly feature for selling wheat, many responded ‘No comment. Not happy. Don’t want to jeopardize future relations with neighbors about expressing our opinions.’ Those who were for the newest legislation are the loudest and most outspoken about the issue, touting its grandness. 

This recent decision came when the government’s legislation to make farmers’ sales to the Canadian Wheat Board voluntary cleared another hurdle in the House of Commons Monday night, with MPs voting to send it to the next stage on its path through Parliament.

The vote on second reading of the bill moves it to committee, where MPs will hear witnesses discuss the legislation. It will then go back to the House for a third vote. If it makes it through the House, it moves on to the same process in the Senate.

Last week, the government moved time allocation, limiting the number of days for debate at this stage in the House.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says western Canadian farmers shouldn’t be forced to sell their grain through the Wheat Board. NDP and Liberal MPs say the wheat board is important for keeping prices fair for farmers, and fear large agribusinesses will have an upper hand in dealing with farmers if the Wheat Board loses its monopoly.

Speaking in the House of Commons before question period on Monday, NDP wheat board critic Pat Martin suggested Conservative MPs with a personal or family business stake in prairie grain farming would be in a potential conflict of interest should they vote in favor of legislation to end the board’s monopoly.

“If you believe the [agriculture] minister’s supposition that Prairie farmers will make more money if they abolish the Canadian Wheat Board, then any Prairie farmer or any farmer in the Conservative caucus finds himself in a conflict of interest and therefore is both duty-bound and honor-bound to recuse himself not just from the vote … but from any debate that promotes the abolition of the wheat board,” Martin said, referring to the conflict-of-interest code for MPs. “You can’t have it both ways.”

East Wheatland resident Ray Schultz, a third generation farmer northeast of Standard says that not many are aware of the entire issue at hand. Schultz’s grandfather bought the land in 1928 and then it went to his Father Buster and mother Margaret before being transferred to brothers Francis and Raymond.  According to Schultz his bottom line was “My grain…my choice where to sell it…my rights…my wheat, and it all comes down to freedom”. 

The Federal Government is only trying to regulate those grains for human consumption being durum, barley and wheat to market internationally. All other grains for things like animal feed, farmers can choose to do whatever they want in selling their product.

Hussar long time farmer Darrell Stokes makes no bones about where he stands on the issue at hand. He passionately said, “Quite frankly the Conservative Government needs to get out of the Wheat Board’s business.”  He is not in favour of the Government’s decision to “dissolve” a 75-year-old institution and “give away” the control to huge international monopolies. “Those who think that they can operate within a dual system are fooling themselves because it will never work. The huge grain companies are going to monopolize the small farmers and it will all come down to money in the end”. 

Leigh Christensen a fourth generation farmer in the Standard area says, “I appreciate the uncertainty that comes with change for some producers, but there is nothing special about wheat or barley marketing that requires intervention of sales management. The new CWB has no infrastructural assets (elevators and terminals) to handle and ship grain. If they can live up to their (unaudited) claim of extracting a premium from the market and align themselves with a shipper, then they have a chance of survival. Time will tell.”

So as far as the issue goes the consensus on both sides is that “Time will tell.”