Liberals Introduce Legislation to Boost Farmers’ Control over Canadian Wheat Board
January 31, 2008
OTTAWA – The Liberal Opposition today introduced a private member’s bill to reinforce farmers’ democratic control over the operations and jurisdiction of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).
“Through two painful years of Conservative government, Stephen Harper has used every dirty trick in the book to impose his mean-spirited, right-wing ideology on prairie farmers,” said Manitoba MP Ray Simard who sponsored the bill.
“Mr. Harper has ignored the law, the courts, and Parliament – resorting instead to gag orders, threats, firings, stacked appointments, propaganda, and a grossly manipulated plebiscite to try and kill the Wheat Board. By contrast, this bill stands up for farmers and their democratic rights.”
Mr. Simard’s bill accomplishes three broad objectives. It:
• requires the government to consult the CWB Board of Directors before the government makes any significant policy decisions involving the Wheat Board;
• reduces the number of government appointees to the CWB 15-member Board of Directors from five to three – including the President. The CWB’s 10 farmer-elected directors would be empowered to name the other two appointees; and
• strengthens the existing provisions in Canadian Wheat Board Act which requires that changes to the CWB’s marketing jurisdiction must be made through legislation approved by Parliament, and such legislation must be preceded by both consultations with the CWB and a legitimate vote among producers.
The bill also emphasizes that the CWB’s directors must be consulted on any legislation that makes changes to the Board’s jurisdiction in advance, and the producer vote must involve a clear, democratic, secret ballot on a specific question – not an abstract multiple choice survey about marketing philosophies.
Liberal Agriculture Critic and P.E.I. MP Wayne Easter vowed that Liberals will battle regressive Conservative measures to undermine the CWB and will push for speedy passage of Mr. Simard’s private member’s bill.
“Just this week the government announced its intent to introduce legislation to slowly gut the Wheat Board, without the consultation or the clear producer vote the existing law requires,” said Mr. Easter.
“The only big winners will be U.S. grain corporations and the railways. Farmers’ marketing clout will be destroyed.”
Liberal House Leader and Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale, a former minister responsible for the CWB, said the real issue is giving farmers the democratic control they want.
“Our basic point is simple. It doesn’t matter what politicians or bureaucrats think about grain marketing. What matters is what farmers think and want. And our legislation puts the final say in farmers’ hands,” said Mr. Goodale.
“This legislation strengthens democracy and producer control, and makes the CWB less vulnerable to the ideological whims of an abusive government that has shown it simply cannot be trusted.”
http://www.liberal.ca/story_13528_e.aspx
Monday, February 4, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Ottawa critic at CWB sacked
Ottawa critic at CWB sacked
Sat Feb 2 2008
By Larry Kusch
A Canadian Wheat Board vice-president who was an outspoken critic of the Harper government's tactics in its dealings with the marketing agency was sacked Friday.
Deanna Allen, the board's vice-president of farmer relations and public affairs, had been a thorn in the side of the government as it attempted to end the wheat board's barley marketing monopoly.
Allen said in an interview late Friday that she was "dismissed without cause" by wheat board interim president Greg Arason.
"I was told that Greg had just come in from an in-camera session with the board and that he was to inform me that I was dismissed effective immediately," she said, adding that the news "came as a bit of a shock" and that she had had no inkling that her dismissal was imminent.
Allen would not speculate on the wheat board's motivations for firing her.
Pulling no punches
Deanna Allen's comments have sometimes made her a thorn in Ottawa's side:
"This is one of the most irresponsible things that I think we've had to deal with yet in this whole bizarre dispute that we've had with the minister"
-- reacting to statements by former CWB minister Chuck Strahl last May that barley farmers may default on barley delivery contracts with the prospect of an open market coming soon. May 18/07
"While we've been in the penalty box, they were running a $1.2-million campaign, which was on the single desk and which was casting doubts as to whether the single desk was an appropriate vehicle for marketing at all"
-- referring to a federal print and radio ad campaign last year on barley marketing that occurred during a government gag order on wheat board communications supporting its position. Nov. 28/07
"Is he gagging customers, too?"
-- reacting to charges by CWB Minister Chuck Strahl that the wheat board had acted irresponsibly by posting letters on its website from international grain customers expressing shock at the Harper government's plans for the board. Dec. 13/06
"We get a news release saying the minister is disappointed. Well, we are very disappointed that we had to find out about the composition of the task force by news release"
-- referring to a statement by former CWB Minister Chuck Strahl that he was disappointed the wheat board had not responded to his invitation to name a representative to a government task force on barley marketing. Sept. 19/06
Wheat board chairman Ken Ritter, a Saskatchewan grain farmer, and Arason declined requests for comment Friday.
Allen's dismissal came two days after Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz appointed Australian sugar marketer Ian White as the wheat board's new president and CEO. White's three-year term begins March 31.
The Harper government fired former CWB president and CEO Adrian Measner in December 2006 over his staunch public defence of the wheat board's monopoly on wheat and barley sales.
After Measner was dismissed and replaced on an interim basis by Arason, a Harper government appointee, it was often left to Allen to deliver a stinging rebuttal as the wheat board clashed with the government over barley marketing.
Allen said all her comments to the media reflected the wheat board's point of view. "I wasn't some rogue spokesperson for the company," she said.
On Friday, Measner, now an executive in the private grain trade, said Allen's dismissal would be a shock to the organization.
"I know she's incredibly good at her job. I worked with her for many years. And she certainly knows she worked for farmers and not for the government and was not afraid to speak up," the former CWB president said.
While Ottawa has the power under the Canadian Wheat Board Act to hire and fire the wheat board president, it cannot dismiss lower-level salaried staff. The salaries of all CWB employees come out of the pockets of Prairie grain growers.
A spokesman for the National Farmers Union said his organization would be "very disappointed" by Allen's dismissal.
"We think she's done a real good job under trying circumstances, very professional," said the NFU's Terry Pugh.
However, Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, said Allen treated opponents of the wheat board's monopoly "in a condescending way."
"It was like she felt she knew better than I did what was best for my farm," Jolly-Nagel said.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Sat Feb 2 2008
By Larry Kusch
A Canadian Wheat Board vice-president who was an outspoken critic of the Harper government's tactics in its dealings with the marketing agency was sacked Friday.
Deanna Allen, the board's vice-president of farmer relations and public affairs, had been a thorn in the side of the government as it attempted to end the wheat board's barley marketing monopoly.
Allen said in an interview late Friday that she was "dismissed without cause" by wheat board interim president Greg Arason.
"I was told that Greg had just come in from an in-camera session with the board and that he was to inform me that I was dismissed effective immediately," she said, adding that the news "came as a bit of a shock" and that she had had no inkling that her dismissal was imminent.
Allen would not speculate on the wheat board's motivations for firing her.
Pulling no punches
Deanna Allen's comments have sometimes made her a thorn in Ottawa's side:
"This is one of the most irresponsible things that I think we've had to deal with yet in this whole bizarre dispute that we've had with the minister"
-- reacting to statements by former CWB minister Chuck Strahl last May that barley farmers may default on barley delivery contracts with the prospect of an open market coming soon. May 18/07
"While we've been in the penalty box, they were running a $1.2-million campaign, which was on the single desk and which was casting doubts as to whether the single desk was an appropriate vehicle for marketing at all"
-- referring to a federal print and radio ad campaign last year on barley marketing that occurred during a government gag order on wheat board communications supporting its position. Nov. 28/07
"Is he gagging customers, too?"
-- reacting to charges by CWB Minister Chuck Strahl that the wheat board had acted irresponsibly by posting letters on its website from international grain customers expressing shock at the Harper government's plans for the board. Dec. 13/06
"We get a news release saying the minister is disappointed. Well, we are very disappointed that we had to find out about the composition of the task force by news release"
-- referring to a statement by former CWB Minister Chuck Strahl that he was disappointed the wheat board had not responded to his invitation to name a representative to a government task force on barley marketing. Sept. 19/06
Wheat board chairman Ken Ritter, a Saskatchewan grain farmer, and Arason declined requests for comment Friday.
Allen's dismissal came two days after Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz appointed Australian sugar marketer Ian White as the wheat board's new president and CEO. White's three-year term begins March 31.
The Harper government fired former CWB president and CEO Adrian Measner in December 2006 over his staunch public defence of the wheat board's monopoly on wheat and barley sales.
After Measner was dismissed and replaced on an interim basis by Arason, a Harper government appointee, it was often left to Allen to deliver a stinging rebuttal as the wheat board clashed with the government over barley marketing.
Allen said all her comments to the media reflected the wheat board's point of view. "I wasn't some rogue spokesperson for the company," she said.
On Friday, Measner, now an executive in the private grain trade, said Allen's dismissal would be a shock to the organization.
"I know she's incredibly good at her job. I worked with her for many years. And she certainly knows she worked for farmers and not for the government and was not afraid to speak up," the former CWB president said.
While Ottawa has the power under the Canadian Wheat Board Act to hire and fire the wheat board president, it cannot dismiss lower-level salaried staff. The salaries of all CWB employees come out of the pockets of Prairie grain growers.
A spokesman for the National Farmers Union said his organization would be "very disappointed" by Allen's dismissal.
"We think she's done a real good job under trying circumstances, very professional," said the NFU's Terry Pugh.
However, Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, said Allen treated opponents of the wheat board's monopoly "in a condescending way."
"It was like she felt she knew better than I did what was best for my farm," Jolly-Nagel said.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Canadian Wheat Board officials deny accusations by ag. minister on barley program
Canadian Press
Canadian Wheat Board officials deny accusations by ag. minister on barley program
Jan 17, 2008
WINNIPEG - Officials with the Canadian Wheat Board are denying accusations by the federal agriculture minister that they're not listening to producers or the industry after introducing a new program on barley marketing.
In a bluntly worded news release issued Thursday, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz called on the board to join a meeting of producers and industry officials in Ottawa Jan. 29, saying there's a "major gap" between what producers and the industry want and where the board is going with its new program.
"It's high time the CWB stops fighting with producers and gets in a room with them to start hammering out real options for marketing choice," said the minister in the release.
Ritz said that the board is forcing the program on the industry by refusing to sell new crop malting barley to maltsters until they sign onto the new program.
The board unveiled the new pricing program earlier this month. It offers malting barley producers a guaranteed, up-front price based on the cash spot market. Farmers would be allowed to negotiate additional terms with grain-handling companies and would also continue to have the traditional option of pool sales, where the price doesn't fluctuate as frequently.
Some grain companies panned the program, saying it could give farmers a lower initial payment and could convince producers to switch crops - which would reduce supply.
Deanna Allen, a spokeswoman for the wheat board, called the tone of Ritz's news release "baffling."
She said Greg Arason, the president and CEO of the board, had already agreed to the meeting in Ottawa before the minister's office issued the statement.
"(It) infers that we're stonewalling, and then also (makes) lavish accusations about us not consulting, not listening and that we are overriding the views of producers," she said in an interview from Winnipeg. "It's just factually incorrect."
Allen said there's no "gap" between producers and the Canadian Wheat Board on the CashPlus option.
"We've met with large groups of farmers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta just since the beginning of January. Our experience has been that all those farmers want to know more about this program and how it could fit into their operations."
Allen insisted that reaction to the program has been mainly positive, not negative.
"The minister is taking counsel from the Western Barley Growers (Association), who want the wheat board out of barley completely," she said.
Allen suggested the association does not represent the majority of the country's approximately 12,000 barley producers.
She said the program was developed after uncertainty developed in the marketplace last year, as the government moved to end the board's barley marketing monopoly.
Allen said industry players demanded a system that would ensure barley supplies so they could meet their sales commitments, and the board has been told the CashPlus program meets those operational requirements.
She said the timing of the meeting in Ottawa is "curious" given that the agency's board of directors is slated to meet in Winnipeg Jan. 30 - one day after the sit-down in the nation's capital.
"I can only assume that by putting this meeting the day before this planning session that he's looking to influence how that planning session might take place," Allen said.
She said she expects Ritz may be sending a message to the board about a federal government proposal to develop a deregulated North American barley marketing system - an idea she said board officials have promised to consider at the meeting in Winnipeg later this month.
-By Lisa Arrowsmith in Edmonton
Canadian Wheat Board officials deny accusations by ag. minister on barley program
Jan 17, 2008
WINNIPEG - Officials with the Canadian Wheat Board are denying accusations by the federal agriculture minister that they're not listening to producers or the industry after introducing a new program on barley marketing.
In a bluntly worded news release issued Thursday, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz called on the board to join a meeting of producers and industry officials in Ottawa Jan. 29, saying there's a "major gap" between what producers and the industry want and where the board is going with its new program.
"It's high time the CWB stops fighting with producers and gets in a room with them to start hammering out real options for marketing choice," said the minister in the release.
Ritz said that the board is forcing the program on the industry by refusing to sell new crop malting barley to maltsters until they sign onto the new program.
The board unveiled the new pricing program earlier this month. It offers malting barley producers a guaranteed, up-front price based on the cash spot market. Farmers would be allowed to negotiate additional terms with grain-handling companies and would also continue to have the traditional option of pool sales, where the price doesn't fluctuate as frequently.
Some grain companies panned the program, saying it could give farmers a lower initial payment and could convince producers to switch crops - which would reduce supply.
Deanna Allen, a spokeswoman for the wheat board, called the tone of Ritz's news release "baffling."
She said Greg Arason, the president and CEO of the board, had already agreed to the meeting in Ottawa before the minister's office issued the statement.
"(It) infers that we're stonewalling, and then also (makes) lavish accusations about us not consulting, not listening and that we are overriding the views of producers," she said in an interview from Winnipeg. "It's just factually incorrect."
Allen said there's no "gap" between producers and the Canadian Wheat Board on the CashPlus option.
"We've met with large groups of farmers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta just since the beginning of January. Our experience has been that all those farmers want to know more about this program and how it could fit into their operations."
Allen insisted that reaction to the program has been mainly positive, not negative.
"The minister is taking counsel from the Western Barley Growers (Association), who want the wheat board out of barley completely," she said.
Allen suggested the association does not represent the majority of the country's approximately 12,000 barley producers.
She said the program was developed after uncertainty developed in the marketplace last year, as the government moved to end the board's barley marketing monopoly.
Allen said industry players demanded a system that would ensure barley supplies so they could meet their sales commitments, and the board has been told the CashPlus program meets those operational requirements.
She said the timing of the meeting in Ottawa is "curious" given that the agency's board of directors is slated to meet in Winnipeg Jan. 30 - one day after the sit-down in the nation's capital.
"I can only assume that by putting this meeting the day before this planning session that he's looking to influence how that planning session might take place," Allen said.
She said she expects Ritz may be sending a message to the board about a federal government proposal to develop a deregulated North American barley marketing system - an idea she said board officials have promised to consider at the meeting in Winnipeg later this month.
-By Lisa Arrowsmith in Edmonton
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