Wheat board elections favour pro-monopoly candidates

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have pledged to allow farmers to market their own wheat and barley as an alternative to the wheat board, but some wheat board supporters say ending the monopoly would deal a fatal blow to the Winnipeg-based agency.

Larry Hill of Swift Current, Sask., who won in District 3, supports the single desk and said three of the other winners announced Sunday do too.

"My position is we would be foolish to give up the single desk," he said. "Rather, we should give producers options that allow them to manage their affairs within the single desk."

The other election winners who support the monopoly were Kyle Korneychuk of Pelly, Sask., Bill Nicholson of Shoal Lake, Man., and Allen Oberg of Forestburg, Alta.

The election winner who supports ending the monopoly was Henry Vos of Fairview, Alta. Three of the five winners were incumbents.

The wheat board says 51.5 per cent of the approximately 31,000 eligible voters cast their ballots.

'Strong' versus 'divided' message sent

"I think a very strong message has been sent by farmers that they support single-desk selling," Nicholson, the re-elected incumbent for District 9 in Manitoba, said Monday.

"I was particularly gratified to see the results in my own district with a majority that was up from the last election. And, in fact, in four out of the five districts there were very strong results in favour of pro-single-desk candidates. And I believe that's a message that the federal government should acknowledge and respect."

But Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl said the results were mixed, noting that one district switched to a candidate that favoured the single desk, while another switched to a candidate that favoured marketing choice.

"Farmers are divided on this, I think," Strahl said.

In January, Ottawa is conducting a farmer plebiscite on marketing choice on barley. There are no immediate plans to change the rules for marketing wheat, Strahl said.

Pro-wheat board rally planned for Thursday

Meanwhile, friends of the Canadian Wheat Board in Manitoba are planning a rally Thursday to show their support for an independent, farmer-controlled wheat board.

Co-organizer Bob Roehle, a retired wheat board employee, said a similar rally held nearly ten years ago resulted in the federal government allowing 10 of the 15 board directors to be elected by farmers. The remaining five directors are appointed by Ottawa.

"The whole notion in those days was to get government out of the board and let farmers control it. Let them make the decisions as to what kind of a marketing system they wanted for their grain," Roehle said Monday.

"It seems ironic that this government campaigned on grassroots democracy and now they are dictating from Ottawa how farmers should have their grain marketed."

Rally attendees will meet at the Oak Bluff Community Centre Thursday morning, then form a motorcade to downtown Winnipeg, culminating in a rally in front of the Canadian Wheat Board's headquarters.

At that point, organizers hope to speak to wheat board chair Ken Ritter and president Adrian Measner. Roehle said the timing of the rally was meant to coincide with what could be Measner's last day as president. In a letter dated Nov. 29, Strahl told Measner he intended to terminate his appointment.

Measner, who has consistently advocated for retaining the wheat board's marketing monopoly, was given until Thursday to comment on Strahl's termination notice.

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