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Producers vote for single desk

Canadian Wheat Board chair Allen Oberg says the results of a producer vote on the federal government’s plans to strip the grain marketing agency of its monopoly powers should block the initiative; Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz insists he won’t be influenced by them; and local Wheat Board director Jeff Nielsen is dismayed by the cost of the whole thing.

Canadian Wheat Board chair Allen Oberg says the results of a producer vote on the federal government’s plans to strip the grain marketing agency of its monopoly powers should block the initiative; Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz insists he won’t be influenced by them; and local Wheat Board director Jeff Nielsen is dismayed by the cost of the whole thing.

Wheat Board proponents were declaring victory on Monday after 62 per cent of the Prairie wheat growers and 51 per cent of the barley producers who mailed in ballots voted in favour of retaining the CWB’s single-desk marketing system.

“Their message is loud and clear and cannot be ignored,” said Oberg, who farms near Forestburg in east-Central Alberta, during a news conference in Manitoba.

“As farmers ourselves and their elected representatives, the CWB, we will fight to have this democratic decision respected and honoured.”

The Conservative government has said it will bring in legislation to allow farmers to sell their grain to whomever they choose, starting next August. The Wheat Board organized the producer vote after Ritz said he would not hold a binding plebiscite on the issue.

Even before the results were announced, the minister said the outcome would not impact his government’s plans.

Red Deer MP Earl Dreeshen also continues to support change. He said his government simply wants to give farmers marketing choice.

“It’s just the monopoly aspect of it that we’re looking at.”

Freedom to sell his grain is important to Nielsen, an Olds-area farmer who represents southwestern Alberta on the Canadian Wheat Board.

“I have a lot of money tied up in my business, and to have someone tell me how to sell my grain I find really, really frustrating.”

Nielsen expressed concern that farmers had to finance the vote, and was also dismayed by Oberg’s pledge to continue the battle to preserve single-desk marketing.

“There are a lot of farmers out there that really don’t want a fight, and the problem is it’s actually farmers’ money that’s being spent.”

Asked during the news conference about the cost of the CWB vote, Oberg said the figure was $270,000, plus another $175,000 for advertising. He defended the expenditures.

“If there was ever a situation that calls for a plebiscite, when you’re talking about irreversible changes to an organization that’s 75 years old, this certainly was the time.”

Oberg said the voter participation rate of 56 per cent was “excellent” for a mail-in ballot, and gives the Wheat Board a strong mandate to defend its powers.

“We intend to stand our ground and uphold the farmers’ decision.

“We’re going to table these results in Parliament and put as much political pressure as we can on this government.”

Nielsen thinks such declarations are premature, particularly since it’s producers’ money that will be used for the fight.

“That really bothers me. I think this is something that should be discussed with the full board.”

He also has concerns about the methodology behind the voting process, explaining that ballots were sent to anyone who has had a CWB permit book or sold wheat or barley in the past five years. That list included former farmers, landlords and even deceased individuals, said Nielsen.

“We have no way to verify our voters list.”

Dreeshen thought the questions — which gave farmers a choice between marketing all of their wheat or barley (excluding domestic feed grain) through the CWB single-desk system or through an open-market system — were unfair. The option of selling only a portion of their grain through the Wheat Board should have been provided, he said.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association was also critical.

“The entire design of this vote was geared toward producing a result in favour of the monopoly,” said Kevin Bender, a Bentley-area farmer and president of the Wheat Growers Association. “The government should ignore the results and move full steam ahead with plans to give us our marketing freedom.”

Oberg said the vote and questions were appropriate, and that criticisms are an effort by open market supporters to discredit efforts to save the Wheat Board.

“Our plebiscite was a fair and honest process and it was designed to give farmers a say in this monumental decision that will profoundly affect their operations.”

Nielsen said he’d like CWB directors to devote more energy to preparing the Canadian Wheat Board for a future without its monopoly powers.

“We’ve wasted a lot of time this summer where we could have been spending our efforts on creating an entity that provides value for Western Canadian farmers.”

Nielsen said he expects the federal government to introduce legislation amending the Canadian Wheat Board in October.

Meanwhile, a group called Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board has taken Ritz to court, arguing that he is obligated by law to hold an official farmer vote before removing the Wheat Board’s monopoly. On Friday, a Federal Court judge rejected a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. A hearing date has yet to be set.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com