I put together this write-up last week,
summarizing the play by play since the
summer on the government's plan to end
the CWB sales monopoly.
*****
Update on the Transition to an Open
Market for Wheat, Durum and Barley
Summer is coming to an end and the
federal government will be getting back
to business soon. One of their early
priorities is expected to be tabling new
legislation governing wheat, durum and
barley marketing in western Canada.
Since the federal election in May, the
end of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB)
sales monopoly has been widely
discussed, debated and deliberated, but
no major steps have yet been announced.
Here is a rundown of the events of the
past few months, and some ideas about
likely next steps.
Shortly after the election, Minister
Ritz announced that the change would
take effect for the 2012/13 crop year.
He met with the CWB early in the summer,
confirmed the government’s plans to end
their monopoly, and asked the Board to
start preparing.
CWB supporters including the 8 Directors
who control the organization have fought
the change. The organization launched
its own plebiscite asking farmers if
they want the end of the monopoly or
not, although the Minister has stated
that the results won’t impact the
government’s plans.
The Directors hosted town hall meetings
to talk to farmers about what would be
lost with the sales monopoly. Allan
Oberg, the CWB Chair, also launched a
blog where regular commentaries are
posted regarding the possible negative
implications of the government’s plans.
Their message to the public has been
that the Conservatives’ election promise
- to give farmers marketing choice and
to maintain a strong, viable pool -
isn’t possible.
The CWB’s message to government has been
slightly different. They’ve asked for
“significant operating and financing
capital, regulated access to terminals,
assistance in an ownership structure,
and other measures”, or a couple hundred
million dollars to cover wind-up costs
to shut down the organization
altogether.
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada set up
a Working Group on Transition to help
sort out the many side issues related to
taking away the source of the CWB’s
power and control in the industry. This
team of grain industry representatives
has spent the summer dealing with such
questions as the administration of
producer cars, marketing and approval of
new seed varieties, and funding the
Canadian International Grains Institute
and the Western Grains Research
Foundation. They have finished their
meetings, and are now preparing their
final report and recommendations to
submit to Ottawa on September 15th.
New legislation is expected to be
introduced the first week of October.
This would imply that much of the work
is already complete and that the new
structure is close to being decided. The
contents of the bill will not be
available to the public until it is
tabled.
summarizing the play by play since the
summer on the government's plan to end
the CWB sales monopoly.
*****
Update on the Transition to an Open
Market for Wheat, Durum and Barley
Summer is coming to an end and the
federal government will be getting back
to business soon. One of their early
priorities is expected to be tabling new
legislation governing wheat, durum and
barley marketing in western Canada.
Since the federal election in May, the
end of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB)
sales monopoly has been widely
discussed, debated and deliberated, but
no major steps have yet been announced.
Here is a rundown of the events of the
past few months, and some ideas about
likely next steps.
Shortly after the election, Minister
Ritz announced that the change would
take effect for the 2012/13 crop year.
He met with the CWB early in the summer,
confirmed the government’s plans to end
their monopoly, and asked the Board to
start preparing.
CWB supporters including the 8 Directors
who control the organization have fought
the change. The organization launched
its own plebiscite asking farmers if
they want the end of the monopoly or
not, although the Minister has stated
that the results won’t impact the
government’s plans.
The Directors hosted town hall meetings
to talk to farmers about what would be
lost with the sales monopoly. Allan
Oberg, the CWB Chair, also launched a
blog where regular commentaries are
posted regarding the possible negative
implications of the government’s plans.
Their message to the public has been
that the Conservatives’ election promise
- to give farmers marketing choice and
to maintain a strong, viable pool -
isn’t possible.
The CWB’s message to government has been
slightly different. They’ve asked for
“significant operating and financing
capital, regulated access to terminals,
assistance in an ownership structure,
and other measures”, or a couple hundred
million dollars to cover wind-up costs
to shut down the organization
altogether.
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada set up
a Working Group on Transition to help
sort out the many side issues related to
taking away the source of the CWB’s
power and control in the industry. This
team of grain industry representatives
has spent the summer dealing with such
questions as the administration of
producer cars, marketing and approval of
new seed varieties, and funding the
Canadian International Grains Institute
and the Western Grains Research
Foundation. They have finished their
meetings, and are now preparing their
final report and recommendations to
submit to Ottawa on September 15th.
New legislation is expected to be
introduced the first week of October.
This would imply that much of the work
is already complete and that the new
structure is close to being decided. The
contents of the bill will not be
available to the public until it is
tabled.
Comment