Alberta Wheat & Barley Marketing Board

[TOM4CWB]

Should Alberta create an Alberta Wheat and Barley Marketing Board?

We see that the Ontario Wheat Board is doing the marketing job that works to increase their individual wheat farmers’ returns.

Every Ontario wheat producer is important and matters in Ontario.

The Ontario Board is concerned that a way be made that every farm can grow wheat with innovation and profitability in mind, for that individual farming situation!

Because Ontario has Corn and Soybeans, if the Ontario Wheat Board doesn’t facilitate growers with profitable marketing strategies, no one in Ontario will seriously grow wheat.

The soft white wheat growers in southern Alberta know what this is about!

The “designated area” flour millers and malsters have Alberta grain farmers, over a barrel with the CWB in charge, and they know it!

In the “designated area” the individual GRAIN PRODUCER is simply a PROBLEM that MUST be CONTROLLED and BEAT into SUBMISSION. Can the CWB as presently constituted change to an Ontario style of governance?

Most would say this is not a priority or in the minds of those in power governing the CWB, except for Jim Chatenay and Rod Flaman who also must be controlled and beat into submission, right now.

If Ontario is allowed to do market with individual profitability in mind, why shouldn’t Alberta do the same?

[chas]

Tom4cwb:I think you are on to something good as long as producers are in control of it. This could create some marketing power in grain and oilseeds.
Sounds like common sense. Chas

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

I would be just as happy if we did not have to reinvent the wheel, if the CWB would wake up these types of ideas would not be nessasary!

The problem really is that when a government organisation that operates under legislation needs to change, it does not have the mindset to be able to pull it off.

Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board had a "near death experience" and was just about disbanded.

This I believe shook the Ontario Board enough that drastic measures were felt to be appropriate!

To this point the CWB doesn't beleive that they are close to being taken apart, therefore change is not seriously considered.

We usually only change because we must, not because we find it easy or fun.

This is the chalenge for the CWB, the world around us is changing so fast, will they recognize the need for change soon enough to adjust from the denial stage to the reform and reconstruction stage?

If the old advisory boys don't soon wake up, the ship will sink, and they will have a long cold swim to shore!

[parsley]

The CWB Act was a grand Federal Government scheme to make sure that they controlled where all the Wheat and Barley in Canada would be chanelled. That is where the wealth would be created.

They had a problem though. They did not want to expropriate all the grain. (Hardly a democratic thing to do, and particularly after all the soldiers just gotten home.) So they wrote an act that would make it SEEM as if they had.

The CWB Act is legislation passed by the Federal Government. The CWB Act applies to all of Canada.

One of the things that the CWB is doing right now is operating beyond their legislated authority. In other words, they are doing things that the legislation does not give them permission to do.

Look at Export licenses........

If you want to export out of Ontario, you need a CWB Export License. These licenses are routinely granted to Ontario producers by the CWB.The Ontario producer can chose from hundreds of buyers. If you live in BC and want to export wheat or barley, you need an export license, and they are routinely granted by the CWB. The BC producer can chose from hundreds of buyers

However, if you live in the Designated Area, export licenses are now routinely denied. Denied Denied. The CWB deny DA producers a license and say DA producers must sell their grain to the CWB. By doing this, the CWB becomes the sole buyer of DA grain. The DA producer can chose from only ONE buyer.

This is not what the legislation says. The CWB cannot routinely deny export licenses to producers in the Designated Area.

First of all, the CWB Directors must understand what has been happening, and then they must acknowledge that the CWB have reached outside their legislative boundaries. Then they must correct it.

If they do not, Tom4CWB's words, " the ship will sink, and they will have a long cold swim to shore! " will come true.

Granting licenses will help Alberta's producers. As well as all DA producers.

Parsley

[parsley]

Chas, you like to have a steady income and I've come to recognize from your comments that it is worth fussing over.

How about a steady outflow of your cash? Go back to the thread"New CWB initials rip off Fixed Price Contracty Farmers" and read where the leak in your money bin is.
Parsley

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

The history of the CWB is that they controlled Elevators and railroads, and the trade and commerce that flowed through these “works for the general advantage of Canada”.

The Canada Grain Act had a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that insisted that a producer’s upgraded grain in that farmers own hands was not in the jurisdiction of the Canada Grain Act.

As section 2.2 of the CWB Act gives all the meanings of the CWB Act the meaning of the Canada Grain Act words. The word “grain” meaning has “for the purposes of this Act (the Canada Grain Act) read in wherever the CWB Act uses the words grain, wheat, barley, flax, canola, or oats.

The purpose of the Canada Grain Act is to inspect and grade grain, for the purpose of making a dependable commodity in domestic and export marketing.

A farmer hauling across a border, with that producer’s own produce, is not involved in the flow of “trade and commerce” as defined in the Canada Grain Act, and therefore this produce is not within the terms of the Canadian Wheat Board Act. Interprovincial and International borders are not different when it comes to this ruling, going across a border is either trade and commerce or it is not.

Hence the CWB can only control or buy grain that has been assigned a Canada Grain Act Grade, and or has been involved with one of the “works for the general advantage of Canada” such as an elevator or railway. Sommerville vs. Regina proved this point.

Organic Grain is neither graded nor inspected as Organic, and Cannot be sold or bought as “Organiic through Canada Grade Names. The CWB is totally outside their jurisdiction in forcing Organic grain production through the buy-back process.

But you say the CWB has control of elevators, and organic grain must go through an elevator!

I say if the elevator does not use Canada Grain Act grade names, then the CGC cannot control them.

The pulse and seed industry are perfect examples of how and why the CGC does not control these elevators!

If the CGC cannot control, the CWB cannot control, until sections 20, 21, and 22 of the CWB Act have been proclaimed! However, if the federal government wanted to proclaim the 3 sections, they would have to have the permission of the Provincial governments, or they would be intruding on Provincial jurisdiction with reference to the constitution.

So Section 77 of the CWB act sits dormant, and the CWB never did have direct control over elevators, since 1947!

Now we come back to provincial Jurisdiction. The Sask Supreme Court ruled that if a Monopoly grain Board was to be set up, both provincial and federal agreement would have to be reached for this to be a reality in Canada. Ontario is the perfect example of how this is to work.

In 1973, aAlberta recinded the authorizing legislation for the CWB in Alberta.

When B.C. wanted Creston Wydell out of the CWB monopoly, they just told Ottawa, “we are out” and they were given no cost export licenses by the CWB. No votes, no changing legislation, they were out!

Now if Alberta has the guts, they can do exactly the same.

Will the CWB realize this is reality and move to solve this crisis before it totally self-destructs?

If the CWB treated us like the Ontario Board treats its farmers, would we be in crisis mode spending millions trying to brain wash each other?

A little respect for us would go a long way, wouldn’t it?

[chas]

Seems to me federal government wants control but no responsibility. All the hand wringing seems to be at the provincial level in agriculture but love to push responsibility to the federal level. Somehow we must convince our provincial government to gain control to give producers more marketing power. If you're correct on the law Tom4cwb it should be for our asking. To your knowledge has anyone approached the provincial government in this respect. Chas

[ianben]

Hi everyone
Governments only get involved in agriculture because we have clout.
We can make a difference to who gets elected. So they do what they think will make us vote for them and love to have someone else to blame that they cannot do more.
Here UK government blames EU when they want electing and EU blame UK.

They do not act in our best interests as they also try to keep our customers happy, by appearing to maintain a supply of cheap safe food.
Thus winning their votes also.

Only we ourselves, farmers, could do both if we would just learn to trust each other!!!!

Regards Ian

[ianben]

Hi everyone
Governments only get involved in agriculture because we have clout.
We can make a difference to who gets elected. So they do what they think will make us vote for them and love to have someone else to blame that they cannot do more.
Here UK government blames EU when they want electing and EU blame UK.

They do not act in our best interests as they also try to keep our customers happy, by appearing to maintain a supply of cheap safe food.
Thus winning their votes also.

Only we ourselves, farmers, could do both if we would just learn to trust each other!!!!

Regards Ian

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

In the spring of 1999 a private members bill was brought forward by Mark Haldy a Calgary P.C. MLA. The Lawyers told him and advised the Ag department that a Alberta Wheat Producers' Board would be unconstitutional.

I met with these same AG of Alberta people on Sept 5, 2000 and showed them the Sask Supreme Court grain reference case that was done in 1931.

They admitted at the time they had not seen it before.

The problem the P.C's have is that they are afraid the cure might be worse than the problem we have now.

To create regulations like Ontario has would be considered very intrusive.

All Ontario Wheat producers are licensed, and the control over a farm is complete, just like in the supply management sector.

The Ontario Board does not operate like supply management, and uses its powers sparingly. The problem is that some think allowing these powers to even be considered is beyond what Alberta wheat producers would accept.

I agree the powers are sweeping, and they need to be if the seriousness of what has happened to us and our marketing system is to be reformed and refirbished.

What do you think, would you be offended if you had to have a license to grow wheat, like a license to drive your truck?

I personally do not think it is a bad idea, with food saftey concerns and all, what about you?

[ianben]

Hi Tom
We really have come full circle now.
I say yes yes yes!!!! if you have some control of supply.
I will try to copy what you do here!!!

Regards Ian

[parsley]

For a farmer to have to apply to the government, any government, for a license in order to grow a crop is absolutely unacceptable.

Alberta talks a whole lot of free enterprise. Time they started acting like they actually believe in it.

Parsley

[Vader]

Now we have opened up a can of worms. Does a provincial marketing board necessarily imply that one would need a licence in order to grow that commodity? What happens when a producer in Ontario grows wheat without a licence?

Do the advantages of a system like this outweigh the disadvantages? Just because you have a provincial marketing scheme does that mean that the powers of the Canadian Wheat Board are circumvented? I think not. Even producers in Ontario are required to have a Canadian Wheat Board Export Licence to export their grain. At this point in time the CWB simply rubber stamps these applications if they have been approved by the Ontario Wheat Board. That does not necessarily have to be the case. If Alberta formed a provincial wheat and barley board that does not guarantee that the CWB would rubber stamp their request for exprot licences.

[chas]

Tom4cwb Thanks for the information. I've spend the last 4 winters in California and have been removed from the information flow but I only have my self to blame. This winter I'm home and interested in why the prices of grain seem to keep falling throughout history instead of keeping up. You have convinced me that the old school of thought needs a full adjustment in the fast changing world. CWB legislation needs an overhaul.
A license to grow wheat let me think about that one. I hope to attend several meetings this month to tune up my thinking. Chas

[TOM4CWB]

Chas,

Jim Chatenay has invited Mr. Ken Nixon, the past president of the Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board to Red Deer at the Red Deer Lodge tomorrow, the 5th of March at 7:00pm.

We expect to have a really good debate on these issues at the meeting, and this would be a really good chance to learn more about a Provincial Wheat Board!

Jim wants a full and open debate on these issues, and you are more than welcome to come, as is anyone who happens to read this notice!

Hope to see you there!

Parsley,

I hope I have not offended you too much!

I guess my red neck needs a little more exposure to the sun! I must be sitting at the computer too much!

Am I loseing my senses or what!

I think that a good healthy debate on these issues can never hurt, can they?

I have had many people tell me they cannot figure me out! I guess, I beleive using common sense and decent respect for each other in the end could solve just about anything, couldn't it?

Sounds like it is a little far for you to come to Red Deer, how about I do a little report when I get back and tell you all how it went?