Agriculture committee  Yes, of course. If you can divide, you can conquer. In this case, what we see is that there is value-added development and it does operate through the structures of the Canadian Wheat Board. We could only speculate whether there would be more or less without the board, but we do

Agriculture committee  Are you asking either one of us? In terms of the ports and the potential impact of removing the Canadian Wheat Board, I think, again, that one of the things we have to keep in mind is that as traders--and we are traders--we need to get the maximum return for our producers. In t

Agriculture committee  That is absolutely not true.

Agriculture committee  As for the ability to ever reconstruct, the Canadian Wheat Board has gone through a number of transitions. It has changed often and continues to evolve to meet the needs of producers. There is nothing in NAFTA or the WTO to prevent a re-establishment. But here's the problem: if t

Agriculture committee  Well, that's the way I see the world. Anyway, the point is that it would make marketing and branding very difficult, and I am told it would be difficult as well because one of the key elements is that when you have the Canadian brand and it's shipped through our singular system,

Agriculture committee  Clearly, in terms of value-added, if we're looking at the feed component, farmers can market the feed component where they want to. If it's value-added through feedlot development, they can market there. You have to understand that one of the vital parts of the duty and the resp

Agriculture committee  Thank you. One of the things I have to say clearly is that if there were a clear, straightforward, honest question about the Canadian Wheat Board--do you want single-desk selling of the Canadian Wheat Board or not?--and 67% of the people in my province or the western Canadian fa

Agriculture committee  I was very serious. I want to make sure that the producers are elected, as they have been in the past, and that people are appointed to the board for particular expertise that will help the board fulfill its function of maximizing return to producers.

Agriculture committee  I'm glad you raised that question, because I'd like to clear the air. We try to help farmers in a variety of ways. One of the ways is to offer them space for meetings. Our staff is very accommodating, and occasionally they'll run faxes for people. The cost on that would be roughl

Agriculture committee  They may not have been involved in the writing of it. They facilitated by providing some facts.

Agriculture committee  No, you don't.

Agriculture committee  It was put together by the folks from Real Voice for Choice. They may have had some assistance from people who are involved in Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, and I'm proud of them if they did help them out. Is there a problem with our people, who are there to help farmers, he

Agriculture committee  We are being very clear with people about what we are doing and why we are doing it. We have not hedged in any way. I have not equivocated at all on this issue, nor has my government, nor has the department. Thank you.

Agriculture committee  You don't know that. In fact, you may not be representing 75% of your producers in your particular area, according to what some of the farmers in your area tell me.

Agriculture committee  It depends on how it's painted. If you believe that, have a plebiscite, a fair and honest and open plebiscite.