Canadian Wheat Board Taking Federal Government to Court

The Canadian Wheat board is taking the Federal government to court to challenge an end of its monopoly on the sale of barley as of August 1st. Its supporters in the NDP are already expressing delight at this development. This is not surprising, as this party along with the Liberals have always advocated for and supported bloating government bureaucracy at the expense of the free-market.

NDP agriculture critic, Alex Atamanenko ( Southern Interior ) made the following statement:

"Ever since this Conservative government was elected they have been openly hostile in to the Board and have caused nothing but harm and confusion to everyone involved,". "This timely scrutiny by the courts will hopefully cause the government to be a little less heavy handed in future dealings with the Board"

This is despite a democratic vote by Western farmers in the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia to end this monopoly.

Approximately 29,000 votes were cast. Out of this, 48.4 % of farmers voted to end the monopoly and allow Western farmers to market their own barley, but still have the option of marketing through the Canadian Wheat Board. 37.8 % voted to retain the CWB monopoly, while 13.8 % voted to abolish the CWB role in the marketing of barley. This means that approximately 62% of the Western farmers voted to have the option the to independently market their own crops.

By moving to end the CWB monopoly, Federal agriculture minister, Chuck Strah is courageously defending the rights of Western Farmers. For too long, these farmers who assume all the risk in growing and harvesting their own crops have been denied the right to independently market their own crops. It is expecially unfair, when farmers in Eastern and Central Canada are free to do so. There is something inheritantly wrong with a system where many western farmers have been thrown in jail for attempting to do sell their barley independently, when all they want is to get the best price for their products.

For too long many farmers have been complaining of being shortchanged by the CWB not paying them a fair price for their product. Some are complaining that they can get between $4.00 and $4.50 a bushel on the open market, while the CWB is only paying $3.00.

Federal Agriculture Minister, Chuck Strahl

"If you go the prairies right now, I'm telling you, the farmers will tell you what they want is to finally get from the market what's coming to them"

One of the arguments made by the CWB is that they cannot survive as a voluntary marketing agency. MP David Anderson (Cypress Hills – Grasslands) refutes this.

“It would appear that they are either insincere, incompetent, or ignorant: Insincere because they know better but aren’t saying; incompetent because they truly can’t figure it out; or ignorant because they are unaware that prairie farmers already accomplished this feat in the 1920’s”

The CWB manopoly is a system that should have been abolished many years ago. A system that applies 19th century economics, does not belong in the 21st century. Especially one that does not share in the labour of growing and harvesting crops, but has the right to tell the farmers who did all the work in that it knows what is best for them when it comes to marketing their own crops. Hopefully the Federal government will prevail and give the Western farmers the freedom enjoyed by their counterparts in Eastern and Central Canada.