(Resource News International) — Failing a favourable Federal Court ruling later this month, the federal government plans to move soon with legislation to end the barley monopoly powers of the Canadian Wheat Board, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Wednesday.
Ritz said the promise to bring forward legislation follows what he called the CWB’s continued refusal to even discuss changes to its barley marketing monopoly power in Western Canada.
“On Jan. 29, I chaired a meeting which included every link in the barley value chain, western provincial government officials and the Canadian Wheat Board itself,” Ritz said. “The clear direction from that meeting was that the CWB must come forward with a clear and viable road map to work toward barley marketing freedom.”
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After that meeting, Ritz said, the CWB asked for another meeting to discuss progress on the barley file.
“I went into a meeting Tuesday (Feb. 12) in good faith to discuss progress toward barley marketing freedom with CWB officials,” he said. “The CWB failed to return that good faith” and said it had no mandate to discuss the barley issue at all, he said.
“I asked them to return to the board of directors to get that mandate, I offered to meet with them at anytime over the next seven days for as long as necessary to deliver real progress on that file and now the CWB has refused further discussions,” Ritz said.
“We had prepared a solid business proposal that could end the uncertainty on barley marketing, but we could not identify enough common ground to move forward,” CWB chairman Ken Ritter said in the CWB’s press release earlier Wednesday, in which it announced it would discontinue discussions with the federal government.
The CWB, Ritter said, had hoped to engage Ritz in discussions about ways to improve its relationship with government, enhance farmer control, improve the CWB’s ability to serve farmers and stabilize its mandate with regards to both barley and wheat.
“We entered these discussions in good faith,” Ritter said, “but, based on yesterday’s meeting, we could not see a way to responsibly proceed.”
From where Ritz sits, however, “the CWB has refused to explore any alternatives,” he said, noting that the CWB’s offer of its CashPlus cash price option program for barley was not enough.
“The CWB could use its discretionary powers to make some changes that would be beneficial to farmers,” he said in a release Wednesday. “For example, in 2006, the CWB put in place a program called ‘Field to Plate’ that enabled those involved in small niche-market processing ventures to source grain directly from farmers. However, the CWB has decided it will not do anything for barley producers.”
Opposition warned
Ritz also cautioned the New Democratic Party and the Liberals to stop blocking the rights of Prairie farmers and support the pending legislation.
Ritz acknowledged, however, that if there is a spring election called, the legislation will be stalled and the CWB “will live until after the election when the Conservative government comes back with a majority, at which point there will be major changes.”
If there is no spring election, Ritz said, legislation will be tabled within the first week Parliament resumes sitting after the February break, roughly 10 days from now.
Ritz also told reporters on a teleconference that the CWB would be able to survive in a dual marketing barley system.
“The CWB tells everyone how powerful they are that they have tremendous ratings around the world, they have access to certain markets, they have a client list second to none, they are by far the best marketer around the globe, so why would they not survive?” Ritz said. “The CWB constantly tells producers what a wonderful job they are doing out there; why would that stop?”
The CWB will still have access to western Canadian product and while it may have to pay a bit more for it then they are now, the CWB will still be able to meet any sales commitments, he said.
The government, meanwhile, is appealing a ruling that struck down the Conservatives attempt to implement marketing choice for Western Canadian farmers by a cabinet decree in early 2007. The ruling found that the government’s proposed changes to barley marketing will have to get past a vote in Parliament.
The Federal Court will begin hearing arguments in that case on Feb. 26 in Winnipeg.
(With files by FBC staff)
