Toolbox
Newsroom
2004
CWB Chair defends farmers' right to choose
April 27, 2004
Winnipeg - The farmer-elected chairman of the CWB board of directors today called on the Alberta government to respect the democratic right of western Canadian farmers.
Speaking at a news conference in Calgary, Ken Ritter, joined by some Alberta farmers and the President and CEO of the CWB, pointed out that farmers control the CWB through the election of 10 directors to the board. "Farmers who want to change the grain marketing system in Western Canada have a forum - director elections," he said, adding the Alberta government proposal to set up a province-wide trial open market would take away that right from farmers.
"As a farmer and an elected director of the CWB, I am calling on the Alberta government to let Western Canadian farmers exercise their democratic right to choose the grain marketing system that works best for them," Ritter said. "Passing legislation, especially without first obtaining the courts' opinion on the proposal's validity, is both misguided and irresponsible."
Ritter also said the Alberta government is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a glitzy PR campaign that is "short on facts and long on fiction." On behalf of the CWB, he committed to providing farmers with as much information as possible over the coming months to counter the Alberta government's misinformation campaign.
As part of this campaign, the Alberta government is holding up Ontario as a model, noted CWB President and CEO Adrian Measner. "They're quick to tell you that producers in Ontario decided to give up their single-desk," he said. "But they are less quick to talk about the impact that decision has had on the pocketbooks of Ontario wheat producers."
By marketing through a single-desk, western Canadian farmers earn hundreds of millions of dollars more for their wheat, durum and barley each year. "Alberta Agriculture Minister Shirley McClellan would have people believe the CWB is afraid of competition," Measner said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We compete every day in a global marketplace dominated by a handful of multinational grain companies. The only difference is that we're not in this to make money for shareholders. We're in business to make money for western Canadian farmers."
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less the costs of marketing, to Prairie farmers.
For more information, please contact:
Louise Waldman
Manager, Media Relations
Winnipeg, MB
(204) 299-8398
Photo from news conference.
