WINNIPEG – The federal government is poised introduce its long awaited legislation today that will allow it to wipe out the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board, but the board is vowing it won’t go quietly.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Monday that the bill, long promised by the Conservatives, will be passed through the House of Commons before the end of the year. But the timing was about the only concrete thing he offered at the announcement on a farm near Acme, Alta. He took no questions from reporters who dialled in for the conference call.
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He repeated the government’s mantra that dismantling the monopoly is all about free choice and will be good for farmers.
“The Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, born in different times to meet different needs, has cast a chill on key parts of the grain sector in Western Canada,” the minister said.
Ritz pointed to a recently announced pasta plant in Regina as an example of the kind of value-added business that the wheat board’s single desk stifled in the past.
“Marketing freedom will unlock new value-added investment, new jobs and new growth for Canada’s economy.”
Wheat board chairman Allen Oberg responded quickly in Winnipeg with a renewed declaration of war.
“This is not over. We cannot in good conscience give up the fight,” he said.
“We believe the government’s actions are illegal, that the act clearly states that this government has to hold its own plebiscite and consult with farmers before making changes, and that’s why we intend to put this issue before the courts.”
It’s expected the new legislation will remove the requirement for a plebiscite.
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