Majority of Farmers Demanding Market Freedom - from Honorable Gerry Ritz Office

[joedales]

MAJORITY OF FARMERS DEMANDING MARKET FREEDOM



OTTAWA, Ontario, June 6, 2008 - A poll conducted by a long-time Liberal insider on behalf of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) confirms Western Canadian farmers overwhelmingly support barley marketing freedom. A closer look at the CWB survey results released today shows Western Canadian farmers’ demands for barley marketing freedom are even stronger than CWB Chair Larry Hill stated during his appearance at the Senate Committee on Agriculture yesterday.



“There is no longer any doubt how strong and deep support for barley marketing freedom now runs among Western Canadian farmers,” said the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board.



When Mr. Hill appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee he said 57 per cent of Western Canadian farmers are demanding marketing freedom for barley. What the CWB’s own survey actually says is that 57 per cent of Western Canadian farmers want marketing freedom for wheat.



The CWB’s survey actually shows that nearly 70 per cent of Western Canadian farmers are demanding barley marketing freedom. In fact, Mr. Herle specifically states in the survey that “dual marketing is the preference among farmers for barley marketing” and “if they cannot have a dual market, most would prefer an open market to the single desk.”



“The results of this survey are so clear the Liberals cannot even spin the numbers coming from their own insider to support their ideological crusade against Western Canadian barley farmers,” said Minister Ritz.



Prime Minister Stephen Harper and this Government are working hard to deliver barley marketing freedom and it is time for the Liberals to give Western Canadian barley farmers the freedom they are demanding by supporting Bill C-46.


For more information, media may contact:



Margaux Stastny

Press Secretary

The Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz

[Fransisco]

Gee, wow, I am so underwhelmed, tell us something we don't know. Like when are you going to do something about it Gerry? You're not in opposition any more, you're in government, the power is in your hands. Ralph Goodale, Wayne Easter, and Stephen Dion are not going to do this for you.

[wilagro]

Yes Gerry, what is holding you back? No majority, no guts, all talk?

Fransisco is getting desperate to be able to buy cheaper barley for his pigs.

Looks like there will be no change this session, so hunker down in your bunker and prepare to market through the old reliable CWB.

Seems like hotshot Ritz has fizzled out again.

[charliep]

wilagro

I note survey shows farmers want the CWB the board of directors to make the decision and not the government.
What does a survey result that shows 52 % of farmers what an open market for barley suggest to you? If you were the CWB board of directors and saw this result what would you do?

Perhaps you haven't looked the survey. You should read it.

[kryger]

The CWB Board of directors have told us that they will do what the farmers want. Well, the farmers have spoken loud and clear. The farmers want the "so called open market".

By the way, the survey had way to many choices for answers, I don't think most of the farmers understood what they were answering.

[kryger]

I think we all can agree that this survey was very leading. And yes way to confusing at times too. WOW think if we had a plebiscite question simular to this survey!
Yet in the way our system works, you can hit them in the head with a 2x4 and still they wonder off on their own accord and do what they want. Just look at biofuels, NDP were full support, then due to public misconception of the issue flip flopped faster than Rod Flanman.
Clearly if we did have a federal election this fall, the Liberals and NDP would not win one seat in the west. One has to wonder if even Gooddale is at risk? I surely hope so.
But I will agree with all, Harper has to make this a confidence motion, it is not a western regional issue. This is and has been proven to be a Canadian wide issue. With out dramatic changes to the CWB we are driving out value added, driving out jobs, expansions to existing malt plants, threatening brewery workers across Canada, driving out innovation and new opportunities. And this is just barley!
And yes the BOD of the CWB has known for the past 10 years this survey has been conducted that barley farmers want the monopoly out of the way. It took 9 years for them to publicly state that, as Ritter did last summer and what have they shown for it since? CashPlus, ignoring farmers wishes and keeping the handcuffs on between the malt producer and the CWB.
Looks like our only way to get the job done is this falls director elections, we need to see changes there, changes to directors that can see outside the box. Directors that can move the CWB to the next generation, transform it into some thing that can provide flexibility, choice, and open marketing options.
As to the survey, even as misleading as it was, I feel farmers saw through the BS, support for the CWB is dismal. Now what are they going to do about it? It is our ability to change it for the better this fall.
Damn optimistic here I know, even as my crops are learing to swim(2.5 inches past three days, 2 more coming) I am more positive as I was still attempting to seed here in south central AB last year. My farm needs this crop and needs marketing choice.
Erik

[parsley]

Bid to fast-track wheat board bills fails

Mia Rabson
Winnipeg Free Press

June 9/08


An attempt by the government to fast-track its Canadian Wheat Board legislation failed today.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz wanted to have both his CWB bills bypass
second reading and go straight to committee, hoping to get them passed and in place by the time the barley crop season begins later this summer.

One of the bills allows cabinet to eliminate the CWB's monopoly on Prairie
barley sales. The other amends how CWB directors are elected.

The first bill was introduced in March, but the government has never
attempted to bring it up for debate.

The second bill was introduced in May.
Ritz asked the other parties to consider restricting debate in second
reading on the bills to 10 minutes per party and then send them off to the
Commons agriculture committee.

Normally, second reading requires a minimum of five hours of debate before a bill goes to committee.

His parliamentary secretary, David Anderson, told the Free Press that would have helped get the bills passed quickly.


"We felt this was a smoother way to move it forward, but the opposition has
stopped that," Anderson said.

But the opposition accused the Tories of stifling debate on an important
issue.

Winnipeg Liberal MP Ray Simard said if the Tories wanted the bill passed this spring, they should have brought it forward for debate right after it
was introduced.

By not doing that, they kept it from debate and now are asking the opposition parties to just agree to it in principle and pass it along.

"We're certainly not in agreement on this," Simard said.

He said he isn't on the agriculture committee and wouldn't get a chance to
speak about the bill, which would have a big impact in Manitoba.

"They should have brought this bill forward months ago," he said. "This
deserves a lot of debate. This is what they do all the time. If you don't
agree with their policy, they just try to ram it through."

But Anderson said the opposition parties are blocking the desire of western farmers.

He said western barley producers have clearly said they want a choice in
where to market their grain, and the Liberals should listen.

The bill will now have to go through five hours of second reading. With the
house rising no later than June 20, that isn't likely to happen, which means the Canadian Wheat Board is likely to remain the only choice for Prairie barley farmers this season. UNQUOTE



Eric, we'll see if this becomes a confidence motion. Will it be interesting times during the election, if this is not brought forward as a confidence motion?

Parsley

[wilagro]

Parsley: By reading your excellent posting, I get the impression that once again this government has fumbled the ball. Seems to me that they have been doing a lot of fumbling lately. Perhaps we need a NEW government that has a clue about agricultural affairs.

[charliep]

The federal government can read the CWB survey and understand what farmers are asking for. That would be something you and the current CWB board of directors struggle with. The messages in the survey are loud and clear. I would suspect that one more open market supporter in this falls CWB director elections will see barley gone from single desk regardless of what happens this summer. The survey says farmers will support this change.

[charliep]

Will note the CWB has been very quiet in the release of the survey. No mention in the weekly bulletin. No media event.