Canada: New government not rushing to end CWB’s monopoly on marketing western grain

Canada's new Conservative government is in no hurry to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on marketing western grain, Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl said on Tuesday, February 7, according to Reuters.

Strahl, who is also minister for the Canadian Wheat Board told Reuters: "Nothing will happen in a hurry." Despite the new federal government's stance that the CWB should be voluntary for western Canadian wheat and barley producers, which would take away its marketing monopoly, the Winnipeg-based organization was not surprised by Strahl's comment.

"I don't know what it means really. That certainly shows that he's a man of good common sense. We think that anyone who's going to look at the issues in the realistic perspective would come to that conclusion," said CWB spokeswoman Maureen Fitzhenry. The board has not yet scheduled a meeting with Strahl but plans to work with the new minister during a familiarization period.

The CWB was not concerned that Strahl does not have agricultural experience, noting that past ministers have come from various backgrounds. Strahl, a British Columbia member of parliament, was a logging contractor prior to first being elected in 1993.

"What's really important is your commitment to agriculture and to farmers and I think that anyone is capable of that," Fitzhenry said. The CWB has not yet scheduled a meeting with Strahl.

Through its single selling desk, the CWB pools western Canadian wheat and barley for export sales, then returns the revenues to farmers, less its expenses.

The CWB has previously stated that if it becomes voluntary, enabling producers to sell their grain to private companies, the wheat board will not survive. ($1=$1.15 Canadian)

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