News Articles

March 26, 2008
The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal
by Sarah Elizabeth Brown

Jobs at stake over grain bill: critics

Up to 100 jobs could be lost in Thunder Bay if proposed changes to the Canadian Grain Commission are made, say critics.

Grain commission employees were put on notice in December that if enacted, Bill C-39 could mean about 220 jobs cuts between the Thunder Bay and Vancouver inspection sites, with 90 to 100 being lost here, said Judith Monteith-Farrell, regional representative for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Also in December, the grain commission issued a memo forbidding workers from publicly criticizing the bill, she said.

The proposed changes will hurt farmers‘ ability to get good prices for their grain and put Canadians‘ health at risk, said Monteith-Farrell and other critics of the bill at a news conference Wednesday.

Employees with the grain commission, a federal regulatory agency, inspect, weigh and grade Canadian-grown grain.

They also test every box car load for viruses or moulds, said Monteith-Farrell.

Some of the cost is borne by taxpayers, and elevators also pay a fee for the service, she said.

The grain commission‘s impartial role means farmers and terminals can assure buyers that an independent party has graded the grain as top quality.

“That‘s why Canadian grain is so prized around the world,” she said.
The changes would eliminate the requirement to ship grain to Churchill, Vancouver or Thunder Bay for inspection if it‘s destined for Canadian grain buyers – resulting in job losses, said Monteith-Farrell.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff, who sits on the House of Commons all-party agriculture committee, said the Conservative government‘s proposal is “dramatically different‘‘ from the recommendations drawn up to update the Grain Act, which hasn‘t been dusted off since 1975.
They called for an enhanced grain commission with increased funding to speed up grain transportation and shipping, he said.

The government version eliminates the commission from an active role as an inspector and quality controller, he continued.

Boshcoff and Monteith-Farrell said they‘re concerned inspection services could be privatized, and they fear for the reputation of Canadian grain as a quality product.

“You just don‘t throw that away and expect it to bounce back overnight in a positive way,” said Boshcoff.

Two weeks ago, noted Boshcoff, the agriculture committee rejected the government‘s appointment of Elwin Hermanson as new chief commissioner.

But Hermanson is still there and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is ignoring the committee‘s will, he said.

Bill C-39 has gone through first reading and its critics are watching to see when it will be before the House for second reading.

Boshcoff said he thinks if it goes back to committee, the members will reinstate their original recommendations, or the opposition will vote down the bill.

© The Chronicle Journal

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