Wheat board directors out as new law passes
Legal challenges to Bill C-18 dropped
CBC News Posted: Dec 16, 2011 10:13 AM CST Last Updated: Dec 16, 2011 10:12 AM CST Read 0 comments0
The federal government says eight elected directors of the Canadian Wheat Board are gone now that new grain-marketing rules have been passed into law.
Gov. Gen. David Johnston gave royal assent Thursday to Bill C-18, which ends the wheat board's monopoly marketing the wheat and barley grown by Western farmers.
Senior officials with the Agriculture Department said the eight farmer-directors are no longer with the board.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was jubilant the next morning, telling farmers gathered in Balgonie, Sask., that it's a great day.
"This feels damn good. It's been a long time coming," Ritz said. "Finally you have marketing freedom."
Cheers followed that declaration.
Ritz's comments were made before the wheat board announced Friday that its remaining directors met Friday morning and have decided to discontinue legal challenges to the legislation.
One recent court decision said the government violated the Canadian Wheat Board Act by not consulting farmers about the changes in a plebiscite.
The new law has been welcomed by farmers who have long said they want the right to sell their grain to whomever they want. But many farmers say the decades-old monopoly has helped ensure good prices for their crops.
The four remaining directors are all government appointees.
Under the new law, the wheat board loses its grain-marketing monopoly on Aug. 1.
The wheat board will still exist, but will no longer be the only buyer for many grain farmers. Some critics say that will be the beginning of the end for the Winnipeg-based agency.
Ritz said a "reinvigorated" wheat board "will still be there" for farmers who want to use it to market their grain.
Passage of the law means farmers can begin to negotiate contracts with flour mills or grain companies as long as the delivery date is Aug. 1 or later.
Legal challenges to Bill C-18 dropped
CBC News Posted: Dec 16, 2011 10:13 AM CST Last Updated: Dec 16, 2011 10:12 AM CST Read 0 comments0
The federal government says eight elected directors of the Canadian Wheat Board are gone now that new grain-marketing rules have been passed into law.
Gov. Gen. David Johnston gave royal assent Thursday to Bill C-18, which ends the wheat board's monopoly marketing the wheat and barley grown by Western farmers.
Senior officials with the Agriculture Department said the eight farmer-directors are no longer with the board.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was jubilant the next morning, telling farmers gathered in Balgonie, Sask., that it's a great day.
"This feels damn good. It's been a long time coming," Ritz said. "Finally you have marketing freedom."
Cheers followed that declaration.
Ritz's comments were made before the wheat board announced Friday that its remaining directors met Friday morning and have decided to discontinue legal challenges to the legislation.
One recent court decision said the government violated the Canadian Wheat Board Act by not consulting farmers about the changes in a plebiscite.
The new law has been welcomed by farmers who have long said they want the right to sell their grain to whomever they want. But many farmers say the decades-old monopoly has helped ensure good prices for their crops.
The four remaining directors are all government appointees.
Under the new law, the wheat board loses its grain-marketing monopoly on Aug. 1.
The wheat board will still exist, but will no longer be the only buyer for many grain farmers. Some critics say that will be the beginning of the end for the Winnipeg-based agency.
Ritz said a "reinvigorated" wheat board "will still be there" for farmers who want to use it to market their grain.
Passage of the law means farmers can begin to negotiate contracts with flour mills or grain companies as long as the delivery date is Aug. 1 or later.
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