Killing monopoly of Canadian Wheat Board threatens port of Churchill, jobs: NDP

WINNIPEG – Abolishing the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board could have devastating consequences for the small Hudson Bay town of Churchill and its economy, critics warned Tuesday.

The polar bear capital of Canada, some 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg, gets 95 per cent of its port business from the Canadian Wheat Board. Some worry that crucial business will evaporate once grain shipments are open to competition and companies opt to use Canada’s other, less remote, ports.

“Naturally, you would be concerned when you are losing 95 per cent of your product through the port of Churchill,” said Mayor Mike Spence. “How do you replace that?”

Spence said some 200 jobs are directly connected to the Canadian Wheat Board business – a large proportion, considering the town’s population is only about 1,000.

Since the 1940s, Prairies farmers have had to sell their wheat and barley to the board, which in turn exports it to foreign markets.

The federal Conservative government has said it will bring in legislation within months to abolish the monopoly and allow farmers to sell grain to whomever they choose starting in August of 2012. While the Tories argue grain could still be exported through the port of Churchill, others aren’t so sure. Spence said big agricultural companies have their own terminals in other ports so there’s no reason for them to use the independent port of Churchill.

“Why would Churchill be attractive to them?” he said. “Will this federal government guarantee that there will be ample shipments of grain through the port of Churchill so that the port can continue to be successful?”

Churchill NDP MP Niki Ashton said Canada’s only deep-water seaport could evolve into an important new trade corridor, especially as climate change expands the shipping season. But Ashton said the port needs the solid financial foundation of grain shipments.

Last year, just over 600,000 tonnes of wheat were shipped through Churchill.

“The loss of the Canadian Wheat Board could very well mean the loss of the port of Churchill,” Ashton said following a news conference on the issue in Ottawa.

Losing such significant port business would have a domino effect, Ashton said. The railway – one of the few lifelines for the remote town – would probably see diminished traffic if shipments decreased, she said.

The Conservative government is moving ahead with abolishing the wheat board monopoly without doing adequate research or giving farmers a vote, Ashton said.

“We don’t hear the government talk about the broader impact on the Prairie region,” she said. “Where is the vision for the port of Churchill?”

The Conservatives have been heavily criticized by wheat board supporters since they announced an end to the wheat board’s monopoly. The chair of the Canadian Wheat Board is calling on farmers to vote on the issue, while the Manitoba government is running ads condemning the decision.

But federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says the election was essentially an unofficial referendum on the fate of the board and farmers have already spoken by electing a majority Conservative government.

In a statement emailed from France, where he is attending a G20 meeting of agriculture ministers, Ritz said “every farmer should have the right to choose how they market their grain.

“If the Canadian Wheat Board chooses to move forward, farmers will have the option to market through them and the Port of Churchill without having to be forced under a monopoly,” Ritz said.

“It’s time for the Canadian Wheat Board and the NDP to focus on the future instead of scare tactics because delaying the Canadian Wheat Board’s transition will only hurt its competitiveness in earning farmers business starting August 2012.”