Politics and Grain: The Sword of Damocles Will Fall – But where?
The Sword of Damocles is a frequently used to denote an unstable situation; one in which the onset of misfortune is controlled by a fragile trigger or chance.
For those following the ongoing saga of Canadian grain marketing and the Government’s attempt to free up barley marketing for western Canadian farmers, you know that it has been riddled with more twists and turns than a snake with heartburn.
In March 2007, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food held a plebiscite to obtain barley producers' preferences for marketing barley. Sixty-two percent of the farmers who voted in the barley plebiscite preferred the removal of the CWB's monopoly.
The CWB primarily agreed with that number on March 28. The results of the barley plebiscite announced today are not overly surprising. The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has been surveying farmers every year for the past 10 years and these results appear to be consistent with our annual findings. Ken Ritter, Chair, Canadian Wheat Board – March 28, 2007
After the vote, the Government tried to remove the barley monopoly by regulation or an Order in Council, which would have given farmers the option to sell directly to malt companies and export markets.
The CWB then asked the courts to review the legality of the federal government's attempts to remove barley from the board's “single desk." Friends of the CWB, who received financial backing from the provincial NDP governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, also contested whether the federal government had the authority to use regulations to end the barley monopoly.
On July 31, a Federal Court judge the government needed to put the change before Parliament. The Conservatives have a minority position in the Canadian legislature. For the motion to pass they would require help from an Opposition party and the probability of that happening soon is next to nil.
There are three outcomes, in my opinion, of this debacle. Only one is the right answer. Choose wisely.
1) The CWB actually listens to farmer’s wishes and loosens the monopoly.
2) The Prime Minister appoints a new Minister of the CWB next week.
3) Western Canadian farmers become more determined than ever to rid themselves of the “Nanny State” environment in which they operate.
What the CWB did not measure when they went down this path is the outright contempt from farmers who believe they should have the opportunity to market a commodity, grown on their land and with their own money, however and whenever they choose. Today, even ardent supporters of the CWB are now second guessing their commitment to the single desk – so much so that they are calling again for another vote, with only two choices – but this time for wheat and barley.
I believe the Sword of Damocles will fall; however, where most feel that the Agriculture Minister may be chosen as the fall guy, in the end it will be the CWB who suffers the wrath of the cold steel. History has shown that when you hide behind an Iron Curtain long enough, sooner or later that iron will come back to haunt you.
The iron in Damocles’ sword is hanging by horsehair, and sooner rather than later, it will be farmers who ensure it falls. The CWB chose to die on the barley hill, when they really should have chosen wheat.
For the majority of western Canada farmers – yes a majority – whatever the CWB does now is too late.
But then vision has never been the CWB’s strongpoint over the past 10 years now has it?
Larry Weber can be reached at: larry@webercommodities.com
The Sword of Damocles is a frequently used to denote an unstable situation; one in which the onset of misfortune is controlled by a fragile trigger or chance.
For those following the ongoing saga of Canadian grain marketing and the Government’s attempt to free up barley marketing for western Canadian farmers, you know that it has been riddled with more twists and turns than a snake with heartburn.
In March 2007, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food held a plebiscite to obtain barley producers' preferences for marketing barley. Sixty-two percent of the farmers who voted in the barley plebiscite preferred the removal of the CWB's monopoly.
The CWB primarily agreed with that number on March 28. The results of the barley plebiscite announced today are not overly surprising. The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has been surveying farmers every year for the past 10 years and these results appear to be consistent with our annual findings. Ken Ritter, Chair, Canadian Wheat Board – March 28, 2007
After the vote, the Government tried to remove the barley monopoly by regulation or an Order in Council, which would have given farmers the option to sell directly to malt companies and export markets.
The CWB then asked the courts to review the legality of the federal government's attempts to remove barley from the board's “single desk." Friends of the CWB, who received financial backing from the provincial NDP governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, also contested whether the federal government had the authority to use regulations to end the barley monopoly.
On July 31, a Federal Court judge the government needed to put the change before Parliament. The Conservatives have a minority position in the Canadian legislature. For the motion to pass they would require help from an Opposition party and the probability of that happening soon is next to nil.
There are three outcomes, in my opinion, of this debacle. Only one is the right answer. Choose wisely.
1) The CWB actually listens to farmer’s wishes and loosens the monopoly.
2) The Prime Minister appoints a new Minister of the CWB next week.
3) Western Canadian farmers become more determined than ever to rid themselves of the “Nanny State” environment in which they operate.
What the CWB did not measure when they went down this path is the outright contempt from farmers who believe they should have the opportunity to market a commodity, grown on their land and with their own money, however and whenever they choose. Today, even ardent supporters of the CWB are now second guessing their commitment to the single desk – so much so that they are calling again for another vote, with only two choices – but this time for wheat and barley.
I believe the Sword of Damocles will fall; however, where most feel that the Agriculture Minister may be chosen as the fall guy, in the end it will be the CWB who suffers the wrath of the cold steel. History has shown that when you hide behind an Iron Curtain long enough, sooner or later that iron will come back to haunt you.
The iron in Damocles’ sword is hanging by horsehair, and sooner rather than later, it will be farmers who ensure it falls. The CWB chose to die on the barley hill, when they really should have chosen wheat.
For the majority of western Canada farmers – yes a majority – whatever the CWB does now is too late.
But then vision has never been the CWB’s strongpoint over the past 10 years now has it?
Larry Weber can be reached at: larry@webercommodities.com
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