News Articles

June 23, 2008
Winnipeg Free Press
By Larry Kusch

CWB chair responds to Harper comments

Any changes to the Canadian Wheat Board's powers should be made democratically and follow the law of the land, the CWB's chairman said today, responding to a harsh statement on Friday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"We believe, along with the vast majority of western Canadian producers, that farmers — not government — should make the decisions about the future of grain marketing through the CWB," said the wheat board's Larry Hill.

"Those decisions need to be made democratically and carried out with strict attention to the processes laid out by law," he said in a statement this morning.
Hill was reacting to comments by Harper in Saskatoon on Friday following a third court ruling in less than a year involving Ottawa and the CWB that had gone against the Conservative government.

Harper said in part: "Western Canadian farmers want this (marketing) freedom and they are going to get it. And anybody who stands in their way is going to get walked over."

Ottawa attempted to end the wheat board's barley marketing monopoly through order in council last year, but the Federal Court ruled in July that the government had exceeded its authority and needed to introduce a bill in the House of Commons to achieve its goal. An appeals court upheld the original decision in February.

On Friday, a different Federal Court judge ruled that a federal gag order preventing the wheat board from spending any money to defend its single desk marketing system violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"The CWB works for farmers and follows the directions set by its board of directors, the majority of whom are elected by farmers," Hill said.

Elections will be held this fall for five of the 10 wheat board directors that are chosen by farmers. Ottawa names the other five directors — including the president and CEO — to the CWB's 15-person board.

Hill said there is a clear process set out in the CWB Act for initiating any change to the single desk system.

The process — which includes a farm plebiscite based on a "clear question" and consultation with the CWB board of directors — is designed to ensure that farmers' wishes are "accurately assessed and faithfully followed," he said.

© Winnipeg Free Press

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