Feeling that he could no longer support Canadian Wheat Board actions advocating for a single-desk marketing system of western Canadian grain, Olds-area farmer Jeff Nielsen tendered his resignation from the board last week.Reached in Ottawa, Nielsen said the tipping point for him was the CWB's decision to sue the federal government over Bill C-18 to give marketing choice to farmers.ìAfter our decision to move ahead and sue the federal government over Bill C-18, and in talking to a lot of farmers, it was clearly in the best interest of farmers and myself that I step aside, as a majority of farmers Ö that I've been talking to do not support the Canadian Wheat Board continuing to fight the government, when all along producers have Ö wanted marketing choice,î he said.Nielsen, who represented district 2, said he supports Bill C-18, The Marketing Freedom Act For Grain Producers. Once the act is proclaimed, the 10 elected members will be removed in favour of four appointed members and the chief executive to be the sole marketer of western grain until July 31, 2012, the end of the crop year. Effective Aug. 1, 2012, the bill would give western grain farmers the ability to choose their own way to market their grain ñ one of those choices being the CWB.ìIt opens it up to a free market (after July 31). The Canadian Wheat Board (will be) an active player in that market. That's what's really needed because grain is a very fluid commodity. Our end users need a certain amount of grain throughout the year so we need to be able to start marketing next year's crop as soon as possible,î he said.Nielson said both he and Henry Vos, a Fairview farmer who resigned previously, were the only two members on the board who advocated marketing choice. The other eight farmers on the board all support the monopoly of the CWB selling western grain, he said.Meanwhile, the Western Canadian Grain Growers Association has filed legal action against the CWB for what it calls ìmisuse of farmers' money.îThe WCGGA and three of its farmer members have filed an application with the Federal Court seeking a judicial review to determine whether the CWB and chair Allen Oberg are in violation of the CWB's own legislation and Governor Orders in Council instructing the CWB not to expend funds advocating for the retention of its monopoly.The WCGGA is also seeking an injunction to prevent the CWB from advancing its legal action against Gerry Ritz, the federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, which attempts to prevent the federal government from passing legislation to create an open market for western Canadian grain.ìThe Wheat Growers contend the CWB and its directors have no right to use farmers' money to advance a political agenda,î Kevin Bender, president of the WCGGA said in a news release announcing the suit against the CWB.Not everyone believes the current system needs to be replaced however. The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance said it is glad that both Nielsen and Vos resigned.ìIt was always puzzling that they ran for a board position on a platform of giving away our CWB's principal asset, the single desk, and could still have a clear conscience about signing their oath of office,î Bill Gehl, chair of the CWBA said. He added that ìan intelligent and principled critic of any organization is the best friend that organization can have, and over the years the farmer-elected directors have responded to concerns by implementing pricing and payment options which allow business flexibility to farmers while preserving the single desk.îNielsen said not being on the CWB will allow him to concentrate more on his own operation southeast of Olds. He said he still hopes to be active with different producer groups, such as the Canola Growers of Alberta and the Western Barley Growers Association, among others.
