Bill C-18 (Historical)

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act

An Act to reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board and to make consequential and related amendments to certain Acts

Part 1 of this enactment amends the Canadian Wheat Board Act to change the governance structure of the Canadian Wheat Board and to make other changes in preparation for the implementation of Parts 2 and 3. Part 2 replaces the Canadian Wheat Board Act with a new Act that continues the Canadian Wheat Board and charges it with the marketing of grain through voluntary pooling. Part 3 provides for the possible continuation of the Board under other federal legislation, while Part 4 provides for its winding up if no such continuation occurs. Finally, Part 5 provides for the repeal of the new Act enacted by Part 2.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #41

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion carried.

I wish to inform the House that because of the proceedings on the time allocation motion, government orders will be extended by 30 minutes.

The House resumed from October 19 consideration of the motion that Bill C-18, An Act to reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board and to make consequential and related amendments to certain Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Second reading

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Churchill has 10 minutes left to conclude her speech.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today in some great irony. Today is the birthdate of Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas was a champion of much of what we call Canadian values today. He led Saskatchewan from some of its darkest days to some of its brightest days. He was somebody who fought for public medicare at the national level, somebody who created much of the Canadian identity that we have today.

But Tommy Douglas also did one more thing. He stood up for rural Canada. He stood up for the farmers whose communities had been impacted by the Great Depression. He stood up for the development of those communities and those regions. He stood up for their voices.

Today, so many years later, on the day of his birthday, we are entering into a historic debate. We have all been plunged into this debate by the Conservative government's ideological agenda to oppose farmers' voices, to oppose the messages we have heard from farmers in farming communities and rural communities in western Canada, the very part of the country that Tommy Douglas came from.

The loss of the Wheat Board is a loss for all of us across this country. Today's debate also amplifies the fact that the government's agenda is not just about the dismantling of the Wheat Board, but about the silencing of our voices.

Just some short weeks ago, the results of a plebiscite administered by the Canadian Wheat Board came out. That plebiscite showed that a majority of Canadian western farmers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta believe that the single desk ought to be maintained. The government not only ignored that plebiscite but is also ignoring section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act, which states that farmers must have a say in any proposed plans to alter the operation of the Wheat Board.

Today is a dark day, given that we are not just hearing about the government's plan to dismantle a successful institution that has supported the livelihoods of so many farmers and so many rural communities across western Canada, but that once again the government is not allowing westerners to have their voices heard through our Canadian democracy.

Today I also stand as the member of Parliament for Churchill. I stand here proud to represent the community of Churchill. It is an important part of our Canadian economy and also a critical part of our movement forward.

As the only deepwater Arctic seaport, Churchill holds a bright future for the kind of development we could see in northern Canada. Yes, there was an announcement in terms of investment, but many of us know that much of that announcement is both highly speculative and extremely short term. While Churchill and the north welcome investment, more than anything we would welcome the assurance that we can work with institutions that have successfully worked with us to provide a livelihood to the people in our communities.

The Canadian Wheat Board is the only agricultural shipper to the Port of Churchill. Wheat Board shipments account for 95% of the cargo that goes through Churchill. The Port of Churchill is the closest port to many Canadian farmers in the west, and as a result, it saves farmers millions of dollars in shipping. The port depends on farmers as much as farmers depend on the port.

While the government announced adjustment funding for the Port of Churchill, it is speculative. A cost-benefit analysis has not been done as the government has pursued its steadfast approach, its ideological approach, to dismantling the Canadian Wheat Board. The government's actions do not make sense for Churchill. They do not make sense for Manitoba or western Canada.

What will the Port of Churchill do when this adjustment funding runs out and big agri ships to their own terminals in the east and the west to maximize the revenue? What will happen to the port, a port that some have referred to as a jewel of the north, a port that is a critical link in the endless development that we could see in northern Canada, further north than we are?

All in all, the implications of dismantling the single desk are profound. Despite a clear message from western farmers to keep the Wheat Board, the government continues to display arrogance in failing to listen to the voices of farmers. The National Farmers Union president, Terry Boehm, said that the plebiscite's message was crystal clear. Perhaps the government has trouble interpreting these numbers. The facts are that out of the roughly 38,000 votes that came in, almost 23,000, or 62% of farmers, agreed with the statement “I wish to maintain the ability to market all wheat through the Canadian Wheat Board single desk system”.

That is crystal clear. Farmers voted in the plebiscite to say that they want the Government of Canada to stand up for the single desk.

Alberta farmer Ken Larsen, from Benalto, Alberta, a supporter of the Canadian Wheat Board and a full-time farmer, said of the vote “that farmers voting is such high numbers is a strong message in itself”, given what he called “an ongoing campaign of misinformation and bullying”.

The government has no mandate to go against the wishes of prairie farmers and to meddle in this system. The Wheat Board is controlled, operated and funded by farmers for farmers.

The Wheat Board offers a number of advantages to wheat farmers. The first is price pooling, which insulates farmers from abrupt shifts in price and passes returns back to these farmers.

Producer car loading sites are an important piece of this puzzle. The car loading sites that the Wheat Board includes as part of its system save the farmers money, but if the single desk goes, so will the producer car loading sites. These producer cars mean farmers can bypass grain companies' elevators and save themselves $1,000 to $1,500 per car that is shipped. The producer cars are branch lines and short-line railroads. What will happen to them and to the communities along these rail lines?

To connect to the reality of Churchill, as the Port of Churchill is threatened, so is the Bay line that connects Gillam, Ilford, War Lake, Thicket Portage, Pikwitonei, Thompson, Wabowden, The Pas. These are communities all across Manitoba. Some have an agricultural connection, but some depend on the rail line that makes its money from the kind of cargo that the Wheat Board has shipped to the Port of Churchill.

Dismantling the Wheat Board is a slap in the face for western farmers, to their jobs and to their economy. During tough economic times and when prices fall, farmers will be left without any marketing agency to provide them with free risk management and market power.

The government's actions are an attack on the family farm that has supported the Canadian economy for decades. Mark Sandilands, of Lethbridge, put it well when he said, “Farms will have to grow bigger; there'll be fewer small and medium farming operations, and the loss of small rural communities, with their schools, hospitals, community centres and other services. One could drive through rural Canada and find virtually no inhabitants”.

I stand here today not just as the MP for Churchill but as a proud member of the NDP team that has a history of standing up for prairie people and a history of standing up for the voices of people who want to have a say in what they produce, in the future of their communities and in the well-being of our country.

Today on October 20, I ask that we all think of Tommy Douglas, our greatest Canadian, a great leader who stood up for the very ideas that we are fighting for today.

Let the farmers vote. Let western Canadians hear. Let us save the Canadian Wheat Board.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned that today is October 20. It happens to be my birthday today, and I could not ask for anything better than to give our western Canadian farmers marketing freedom.

I would like to ask the hon. member across the way if she supports jailing Canadian wheat farmers for wanting to sell their products across our borders. She speaks of democracy. Does she think it is okay for Canadian farmers to go to jail for selling their grain?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, first I will wish my colleague across the way a great happy birthday. Perhaps it is an honour for all those celebrating today to have a birthday on the same day as Tommy Douglas, a great leader in Canadian history.

I hear the very common reference to the word “freedom”. To me and certainly for us living in the west, “freedom” also means the freedom to speak, the freedom to be heard, the freedom to have a vote on whether people want the single desk to be maintained.

To return the question, I would like to ask this government why it is so afraid to give farmers the freedom to have their voices heard. Maybe it is because in the plebiscite it saw that the farmers want to keep the single desk.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Madam Speaker, my colleague made reference to the sacrifices that would be made in the Port of Churchill.

Recently an article that appeared in The Economist warned of the tragic closure of very many farms and the consequence that would have on local small-town economies in our western provinces. Such closures would change their entire way of life and their entire culture.

Would the member comment on her observations and her fears of these consequences?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, that is what this debate on keeping the Canadian Wheat Board is about. It is about farming and farmers, but it is also about the well-being of rural communities.

I find it pretty ironic that the government refers to its representation of rural Canada when, step by step, it seeks to dismantle the very structures that keep livelihoods in our rural communities and that allow farmers and their families to survive in rural communities. We already know how difficult it is for farmers and the family farm in this day and age. However, as we connect the reality of the Wheat Board with a farm in southern Saskatchewan or northern Alberta to the survival of the Port of Churchill, we also understand that the Wheat Board stood up for all of us. It supported our communities in the work that we do, whether we are farming, northern or western communities. That is why we would like to see the government show some leadership to support rural Canada.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank my hon. colleague for reminding us of the importance of Tommy Douglas' birthday. When we think of this great Canadian and his birthday, the cynicism of today's debate on the Canadian Wheat Board is even more striking. I heard someone say that the survey in question, which our Conservative friends continue to ridicule, was at least honest enough to show a very clear vote on wheat and a much closer vote—51% or 52% I think—on another grain.

I wonder if our colleague could elaborate a little for us. Just how credible was that plebiscite?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for this very important question. The results of the Wheat Board's plebiscite showed that a majority of farmers support the continued existence of the board, not only for wheat, but also for barley. The government is ignoring those results and, on top of that, is defying the act that created the Canadian Wheat Board, which stipulates that any proposed changes to the institution or the process must be voted on by farmers after they have been consulted. Once again, this government is showing complete disrespect for western farmers and for democracy.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Madam Speaker, I have a brief question for the member opposite. She talks a lot about democracy and the need for us to listen to farmers, and so on. How would she explain that the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta support the legislation before the House? Do they not also represent their farmers?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to come from a province that has a strong NDP government, one that was re-elected to its fourth term majority, with a pro single desk stance. That pro single desk stance came from consulting with farmers on the ground, a majority of which time and time again voted for directors, who are pro single desk, to represent them on the Canadian Wheat Board.

I would ask that the federal government follow the Canadian Wheat Board Act and consult with farmers directly, who we know have the most to lose with the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board. Who is going to gain? It is big agriculture, such as Cargill and Viterra. Corporations will certainly be benefiting from the government's actions.

Why is the government standing up for the corporations instead of western farmers?

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Madam Speaker, I am a farmer. I know what will happen with the Canadian Wheat Board and I am concerned about what will happen to other marketing boards. This is a slippery slope.

Yesterday the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board said, “we want to provide the same freedom for farmers right across the country”.

My question for the hon. member is this. Does she see the slippery slope that is happening today with the Canadian Wheat Board? Are chickens and milk next? What is happening with the government? It does not believe in boards. I hope farmers across the country are watching this slippery slope because other boards are next. What comments does the hon. member have on that?

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, absolutely, it is a slippery slope. We are seeing a continuation of the ideological agenda to put corporations ahead of farmers and their communities, which produce the most important thing we need, and that is nourishment. Knowing who is producing our wheat and providing our economy with dairy products and livestock is what we are talking about today.

There is a great concern by farmers across our country, especially in Quebec where supply management is such a critical part of its economy. We hear the government talk about the importance of the agricultural economy, but in fact it stands up for large corporations and kills the very institutions that allow farmers in whatever sectors to flourish, although in this case it is the wheat and the grain sector predominantly. It puts their livelihoods at much greater risk of being lost.

That is not the way we will move forward to build a better Canada. That is not the way we will build better rural communities. If anything, we are taking away the foundations on which our rural communities are built. We are taking away the economy on which our rural communities are built. We are providing an incentive for a generation of young people, like myself, to leave the industry.

If this is the way the government feels Canada will move forward, we in the NDP and, I might assume, based on this discussion, opposition parties do not think that is the kind of Canada we see moving forward. We will stand up for Canadian producers and farmers every step of the way.