News Articles

April 24, 2008
The Western Producer
By Barry Wilson

Ritz's request for CWB info 'no witch hunt'

He was either demanding commercial information from the Canadian Wheat Board that he was entitled to as minister or he was demanding that CWB managers break Canadian Privacy Act protections to give him confidential information about clients.

Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz found himself embroiled in a controversy last week over letters he wrote to then-CWB president Greg Arason last fall and winter asking for detailed information, including contact numbers and sales details, for farmers who took part in an organic pool pilot project offered by the board in 2006-07.

Three times Arason refused, insisting it would violate the privacy act.

Ritz insisted, to no avail.

"I feel that in this case, there is a public interest in the minister responsible for the CWB seeing how the pilot program was implemented," the minister wrote Jan. 25 after twice being told by Arason that details about individuals would break the law.

"Therefore, I once again ask that you provide me with the file information on those producers who participated, including contract information and location within the designated area."

Inside and outside the House of Commons, Liberal critic Wayne Easter denounced Ritz's request for individual information as a witch hunt against CWB supporters.

He said it clearly was an effort to get information on National Farmers Union president Stewart Wells, an organic farmer from Swift Current.

"It is part of the minister's unrelenting campaign to undermine the board and to smear its supporters," Easter said.

Wells, whose NFU obtained the letters from the CWB through an access-to-information request, said he does not think he was the specific target.

"I really think the context to look at this in is the reign of terror that the government has imposed around the board," he said. "I find it disturbing that the minister was trying to get personal information despite being told that would break the law. I hope MPs take him to task, ask him to step down. Imagine what would happen if this was the health minister asking for private medical records?"

Ritz insisted it was much ado about nothing.

"There is no sinister plot," he said in an April 17 interview. "There is no witch hunt. If Stewart Wells is seeing UFOs, he should tighten his chin strap and get into the game."

He said he was making the request under Section 9 of the CWB Act that says the board shall "make such reports and furnish such information as the minister may from time to time require."

Ritz said since only 25 producers took part in the pilot project to set up an experimental organic wheat pool, he wanted to find out why they joined, how it worked and what could be improved.

"I heard the program was over so I wrote them to ask who took part, send me the list because I'd like to chat with these people," he said.

"These are letters back and forth between an arm of the government and the minister in charge and I have a responsibility to know what happened, what went right, what went wrong. And when I saw the list was only 25 names, I thought I could call them personally and find out how it worked. Was it successful?"

He said he wondered if a version of that pilot project could be applied to barley while the government waits for legislation to get through Parliament that will lead to an end of the barley monopoly.

Wells said last week he would like other farm groups to react to the matter. It is likely that members of affiliates of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture were among the 25 producers whose information Ritz wanted.

© The Western Producer

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