The introduction of legislation on Oct. 18 to end the monopoly on the Canadian Wheat Board's selling of western Canadian grain is seen as a good move by the area's CWB representative.ìI support the move. Ever since 1998 when the (Canadian Wheat Board) Act was amended allowing director elections, this district has continually supported marketing choice,î said Jeff Nielsen, an Olds-area farmer and District 2 director for the CWB.Nielsen pointed out that former director for the area, Jim Chatney, served a jail sentence in support of his conviction that marketing choice is good for farmers.ìYou can see over time farmers have been oppressed by this monopoly and it's time to change,î he said, noting the legislation is still allowing the CWB to continue ñ just not with a monopoly to sell western Canadian grain.ì(Farmers) don't want to see any loss of choices. We want to see a continuation in growth in choices to market our grains,î he said.The CWB holds a monopoly on the marketing of grain throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the B.C. Peace region, while farmers in the eastern provinces are able to sell their grain as they see fit.While the legislation was merely introduced last week, Nielsen said the plan is to proclaim the legislation into law sometime before Christmas, before Parliament recesses for its winter break.Nielsen believes that once the legislation is proclaimed, it will have a positive effect on prices, moving them closer to what other farmers throughout the world see for their grain.The Western Canadian Wheat Growers also support marketing choice. In a news release, the organization said it believes ìthe federal legislation will end the discrimination against prairie farmers and ensure all Canadian farmers are treated equally under federal law when it comes to selling their wheat and barley.îNot everyone shares the view that the legislation will be good for farmers however. In a news release, the chair of the CWB's board of directors said the legislation will remove farmers from the decision-making process.ìThis is not about giving farmers choice, it's about ignoring the choices they've already made. Farmers chose the CWB single desk in our plebiscite this summer, when tens of thousands voted to keep it. Farmers choose the people who run the CWB in director elections, and they repeatedly choose farmer-directors who value the single desk,î said Allen Oberg.The legislation, if passed, will remove farmer-elected directors from the board and create a government-appointed board, Oberg, a Forestburg, Alta., farmer, said.ìThe Harper government is taking us all back in time: to the years when farmers were captive to grain companies and powerless against railways. And they are doing this against the wishes of farmers,î he said.Oberg said he is recalling the board of directors for a special meeting this week to review the legislation and to discuss next steps.
