Wheat board can't explain

[shaney]

Here is the interview that I did today with Maureen
Fitzhenry from the CWB. We chatted about the issue
to try and clear up some misconceptions.

http://realagriculture.com/2009/11/23/cwb-
responds-to-privacy-allegations/

[parsley]

The CWB chooses an auditor and pays them enough salary to make your head spin.

This lucky auditor does not want to injure next years contract renewal prospects.

Would a keen junior accountant with a sharp eye fully appreciate his/her unstated "duty" to not dampen contract renewal?

Keen young accountants are often quite accomplished at ferreting out technical issues, but very naive about poking political hotspots. Pars
Pars

[parsley]

The question not asked:

"Related to this audit, or veering from protocol, has the CWB supplied personal producer information to ANYONE other than the CWB's accredited agents?"

[shaney]

I didn't ask that question in the interview because she
answered that question through the other questions.
She stated that they have not released any information
to other parties other than the ones listed in the audit.

I am not a big fan of the single desk but I just think
this is going to blow over and be a none event.

[parsley]

For example, let's do an easy one, the Canadian Wheat Board has a reciprocal agreement with Saskatchewan Crop Insurnace Corporation where they freely trade and share producer information.

I missed it being mentioned.

Granted, perhaps they ended the agreement last month.

Does the CWB ever come clean?

When organic producers tried to pin the Wheat Board down with the question:

"Can you provide export liceses to producers?' at all kinds of open forums, and meetings and by written queries, I will say those CWB bastards fudged every time. Every time, including Chairman Ritter. They didnt want to answer the question because then Western farmers would finally realize the CWB was handing out licenses to everyone EXCEPT Western farmers. Willingly.

And so the only way they admitted they could issue licenese was at a Standing Committee of Agriculture in Ottawa grilled by an MP who actually called producers to see what the ruckus was about.

It took the CWB TWO years to admit they could actually issue licenses to whoever, whenever.

The big issue is not Wheat Board sharing information. Surely you have a handle on that one.

The issue is few trust what the CWB tell us. And particularly producers.

Pars