An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998

This bill was last introduced in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in September 2008.

Sponsor

Gerry Ritz  Conservative

Status

Second reading (House), as of March 3, 2008
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Canadian Wheat Board Act to clarify that the Governor in Council has the authority to amend or repeal any regulation made under section 47 of that Act. The enactment also provides for an arbitration process to resolve disputes respecting commercial transactions or proposed commercial transactions relating to grain. It also repeals section 25 of An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Canadian Wheat BoardOral Questions

April 2nd, 2008 / 2:50 p.m.
See context

Liberal

Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for that irrelevant answer.

Bill C-46 kills democratic producer control over the Wheat Board. By the stroke of a pen in the middle of the night, the minister will have the power to destroy the board by issuing a secret cabinet order. There will be no reference to Parliament, or the courts, or the Wheat Board's producer directors. There will be no democratic right for farmers to vote.

Why has the minister launched a sneak attack on prairie farmers just to please his Republican friends in Washington?

Canadian Wheat BoardOral Questions

April 2nd, 2008 / 2:50 p.m.
See context

Liberal

Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-50 rips the heart out of Canada's immigration system by cabinet orders exercised in secret. Bill C-10 is the ideological censorship of film and video productions by cabinet orders imposed in secret. Now there is Bill C-46, a sneak attack on the democratic rights of farmers to control the Wheat Board, again by cabinet orders imposed in secret.

Why does the government, which ran on accountability, have so much dirty work being done in secret?

Bill C-46--Canadian Wheat Board Act--Speaker's RulingPoints of OrderOral Questions

March 6th, 2008 / 3:20 p.m.
See context

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I am now prepared to rule on the point of order raised on Monday, March 3 by the hon. member for Malpeque concerning the admissibility of Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998, standing on the order paper in the name of the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Malpeque for raising this matter, as well as the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board for their contributions on the issue.

The member for Malpeque contends that Bill C-46 is inadmissible because it contravenes section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act which states:

The Minister shall not cause to be introduced in Parliament a bill that would exclude any kind, type, class or grade of wheat or barley, or wheat or barley produced in any area in Canada....unless

(a) the Minister has consulted with the board about the exclusion or extension, and

(b) the producers of the grain have voted in favour of the exclusion or extension, the voting process having been determined by the Minister.

In particular, the member for Malpeque alleges that the consultations referred to in paragraph (a) of section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act have not taken place.

In arguing that the bill is in order, the government House leader pointed out that the bill does not propose to amend the mandate of the Canadian Wheat Board. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food added that the intention of Bill C-46 is, in fact, to amend section 47 of the existing Act and, therefore, that the provisions of section 47.1 do not apply in this matter.

The Chair has looked at Bill C-46 bearing in mind the arguments made. In light of the circumstances, it is perhaps helpful to highlight the bill's main objectives, as contained in its four clauses. Clause 1 amends the act to confirm that the government may repeal or amend any regulation it makes under the act. Clause 2 establishes a dispute resolution regime which does not relate to the point of order of the hon. member for Malpeque. Clause 4 is the coming into force provision found in most bills, regardless of their subject matter.

It is clause 3 that is at issue in this point of order. Clause 3 repeals a section of a 1998 amending statute; the effect of clause 3 is to cause the repeal of section 47.1, which I just read, and nowhere in the bill can the Chair find reference to any matter prohibited within section 47.1.

The Chair must conclude that, as Bill C-46 does not appear to propose the exclusion of any wheat or barley product from the provisions of part III or IV of the act, nor the extension of the application of these parts to any other grain, it is not subject to the requirements of section 47.1 of the act.

Accordingly, the Chair cannot find that the bill offends the requirements contained in section 47.1 and I am ruling that the bill has therefore been properly introduced and may proceed.

Naturally, the member for Malpeque will have the opportunity to debate the principle of the bill at the second reading stage and, if the House adopts the bill at that stage, the committee to which the bill is referred will no doubt want to examine his arguments during its clause by clause consideration.

I thank the member for Malpeque for bringing this matter to the attention of the House.

March 6th, 2008 / 10:15 a.m.
See context

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Darrin, you make a recommendation to act to rebalance market power. I agree with your recommendation, in fact, but we do have a problem in that the government, with Bill C-46 before the House, is going in the opposite direction. That bill basically makes farmers who are elected to the board of directors of the Canadian Wheat Board voiceless. It makes the farmers who elected them voiceless as well. They're denying in that act the necessity to consult with the board. They're also nullifying the requirement to hold a plebiscite on the specific legislation they're trying to put forward.

I'd like your comments on that.

The bottom line is that power and control are being taken from the farm community and being transferred either to the bureaucrats in Ottawa or to the government itself and the ministers. It's being taken away from the farm community.

Perhaps you could comment on that as well.

Bill C-46--Canadian Wheat Board ActPoints of OrderOral Questions

March 4th, 2008 / 3:10 p.m.
See context

Battlefords—Lloydminster Saskatchewan

Conservative

Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Malpeque is throwing a little obscure argument into this. If we actually look at Bill C-46, the whole issue is changing section 47, not working within the framework. When we are seeking to change section 47, there is no need for discussion. There is no need for consultation. There is no need for a farmer plebiscite or for a further vote.

The hon. member for Malpeque is being disingenuous, which is as polite as I can be, in saying that we need to have all of this in because section 47 calls for it. We are not changing anything within section 47. We are changing the whole darn thing, so it is a different argument altogether.

Bill C-46--Canadian Wheat Board ActPoints of OrderOral Questions

March 4th, 2008 / 3:05 p.m.
See context

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to respond to the point of order raised yesterday by the member for Malpeque on Bill C-46. I gave a brief response yesterday, and wish to add to that at this point in time.

In the point of order that was raised, the member stated that section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act stood in the way of the government's introducing Bill C-46.

I thought you should know, Mr. Speaker, and I know it is not for you to decide questions of law, but you should be aware in considering this matter that a review of Bill C-46 demonstrates that it does not itself change the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing mandate. The bill would only clarify the authority of the Governor General to amend or repeal a regulation made under subsection 47(1). Therefore, the bill is not the kind of situation contemplated by section 47.1. As such, there is no validity in the point raised. Whether or not you wish to delve into that area of questions of law, I leave that for you to determine.

However, Mr. Speaker, I would also add that even if you did find that it was a valid issue, we did indicate that there had been clear consultations. I can advise you further that the then minister of agriculture had met at the time with members of the Canadian Wheat Board on a number of occasions, and he did discuss the government's intentions with regard to the production and marketing of barley. Of course there was a broadly taken referendum that was the subject of many questions in this House, so I know that you, Mr. Speaker, will be well aware of that. The result of that consultation was announced in this House. That result demonstrated clearly not only that a consultation occurred, but that the barley farmers did indeed want that freedom of choice in marketing, which is of course the objective of Bill C-46.

Canadian Wheat Board ActRoutine Proceedings

March 3rd, 2008 / 3:10 p.m.
See context

Battlefords—Lloydminster Saskatchewan

Conservative

Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)