[R-G] Harper moves to kill wheat board control of barley marketing

[Anthony Fenton]

  Harper moves to kill wheat board control of barley marketing
http://www.nupge.ca//news_2008/n05ma08a.htm
Obsessed with eliminating the Canadian Wheat Board

Ottawa (5 March 2008) - The Harper Conservatives have introduced  
legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) monopoly on sales  
of western barley, a move that defenders see as the first legislative  
step towards killing the board entirely.

The timing of the bill has major political overtones in the current  
minority parliament.

Desperate for an election they feel they have a better chance of  
winning now than later - in a deteriorating economy - the Harper  
government has hinted they may use the board as a pretext for a  
confidence vote that will force Canadians to go to the polls.

All federal opposition parties support the CWB and are opposed to  
Conservative calls to kill it.

The board has a monopoly on sales of most western grain crops - known  
as 'single-desk' selling. Supporters say this helps farmers get the  
best prices. They also argue that the bill fails to meet legal  
requirements set out in the Canadian Wheat Board Act.

The only legal way for the government to proceed with the bill is to  
consult CWB directors on the change it wants to make - something it  
has not yet done - and to obtain the consent of grain producers in a  
secret ballot vote, critics say.

The Conservatives want the legislation passed before spring seeding  
and brought into effect by Aug. 1.

Manitoba NDP MP Pat Martin says the legislation is an attempt by the  
Conservatives to crack the wheat board and fulfill a longstanding  
wish by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to put it out of business.

"It's pure ideological madness," Martin argues. "It's a crusade on  
the part of the Conservatives and these zealots are going to run  
roughshod over the prairie economy as a result."

James Clancy

"The real agenda of the Harper government is to dismantle public  
institutions," says James Clancy, president of the National Union of  
Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "We can only wonder what else  
he would take out if he had a Conservative majority."

NUPGE has been strongly supporting an ongoing national campaign to  
save the wheat board from the Conservative axe.

Clancy says many NUPGE members live and work in western Canada and,  
along with thousands of other union members across Canada, are strong  
supporters of the board.

"Our members everywhere are committed to ensuring Canada’s economy  
operates with maximum fairness, and protects the interests of  
individuals who must deal with the incredible power of large  
corporations," Clancy says. "That is why we are completely opposed to  
attempts by the Conservatives to deny Canada’s farmers the market  
protection they have had for decades through the CWB." NUPGE