Good afternoon, and thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to speak on behalf of the producers of Manitoba, and to tell you why the Manitoba government is absolutely opposed to the elimination of the Canadian Wheat Board single-desk selling mandate by the federal government.
The Canadian Wheat Board is a western Canadian institute that has preserved prairie farmers well for the past 70 years and provides a number of important advantages for our producers. Studies show us that the Wheat Board extracts premiums from the marketplace from wheat sales ranging from about $10 to $13 per tonne. In Manitoba alone, this means about $36 million added into the farm economy every year. Across western Canada, these premiums can exceed $300 million a year.
Without the Wheat Board's single-desk selling, these premiums would disappear from farmers' pockets, and that is an important fact to remember. For me this is the single greatest reason why we must fight to keep the Wheat Board's single desk. If it is lost, the effects will be dramatic on the farm economy and farm income returns, and it could be devastating for rural communities.
Without the Canadian Wheat Board, farmers will also lose their most powerful advocate with the transportation and grain-handling industries. I want to remind the committee members that it was the Canadian Wheat Board that stood up for the farmers in the level of service complaint against the major railways. It's the Wheat Board that stood up for farmers in trade actions. Without the Wheat Board, who will stand up for farmers in this way?
Without the Canadian Wheat Board, farmers would be selling to grain companies, which have a much different mandate than the Canadian Wheat Board. Their mandate is to maximize profits for their shareholders. The Canadian Wheat Board mandate is to maximize selling prices for the benefit of farmers. Without the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk, Canadian wheat would lose its single recognizable brand, known and respected worldwide as a consistent quality product. In fact we have recently heard from an international buyer that the Canadian Wheat Board's consistent quality and delivery is irreplaceable and that without the Canadian Wheat Board they may look elsewhere to purchase their wheat.
There are those who say that the Wheat Board can still exist without the farmer monopoly, and I say that this is irresponsible and misleading. Without the single desk for wheat and barley, there will be no Canadian Wheat Board, just as without single-desk selling of milk or poultry there will be no supply management, and people should think about what the next step is. If you're taking one single-desk selling away, where is the next move of this government that could affect many producers?
The Canadian Wheat Board uses the elevators in the terminals and the infrastructure of its grain handlers, which are the grain companies. If these suppliers become the competitors, it is highly unlikely that the Wheat Board, without its own infrastructure, would be able to compete.
It is important to note that there will be far-reaching repercussions to the loss of the Canadian Wheat Board, and not just to farmers. The effects will be felt by small grain companies and short-line railways and rural companies. In the communities, farmers will have far less spending power.
In Manitoba, the Port of Churchill will suffer the loss of its number one and, in some years, only customer. The Canadian Wheat Board ships through Churchill because it is cost-effective and provides more dollars for our farmers. In fact it's $10 to $20 of savings for farmers who ship through the Port of Churchill. The Wheat Board does not own facilities in other ports, as the grain companies do, allowing it to ship grain where it is most effective to do so. In many cases, for some farmers it is the Port of Churchill.
The Canadian Wheat Board focuses on what is the best deal for farmers and their customers. At a time when many rural communities are struggling for their existence, the Manitoba government will not endorse a policy that will have substantial negative impacts on our producers and could lead to the demise of a major community in the north. As well, we have to consider the serious, devastating effects this could have on the city of Winnipeg.
For those who are calling for more choice, I point out that through its board of directors the CWB has taken major steps to provide greater choice. The CWB has developed a variety of delivery and payment options; thousands of producers have committed more than 20% of their cereal crops through these marketing options, and these numbers are increasing each year.
I also want to address the notion that we will receive better access to the U.S. market without a farmer monopoly. Canada has endured U.S. trade action on hogs, on cattle, and on softwood lumber. If farmers start selling wheat and barley directly into the U.S., we know it won't be long before there is another trade action launched against us.
The federal government has been moving forward very quickly on the dismantling of the single desk. They held a round table consultation meeting in Saskatoon this summer; there, they consulted only with a small group of people who agreed with them. They created a task force with no representation from supporters of the single desk. The task force mandate is to look at how--not if, but how--to move towards an open market system.
I say to you that the federal government has also interfered with the Wheat Board directors' election by changing the voters list during the election process. They will tell us it is because of a committee recommendation that came in 2005. If it came in 2005, they did not have to make a decision during the election period and create confusion and give people a very complex way to go and get a ballot.
As they push forward, they are forgetting something very important--that the Wheat Board belongs to western Canadian farmers. It is up to the western Canadian farmers to decide if the single desk should be eliminated, not the federal government. It is written in the Canadian Wheat Board Act that farmers themselves should make the decision, and it is the democratic way in Canada. There must be a vote for the wheat and barley producers to make the decision.
I can tell you that Manitoba is calling for a farmer plebiscite on the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, and we are asking you as a committee to help us get that plebiscite for producers. I also want you to know that yesterday I announced that if the federal government is not going to facilitate a vote, then the Manitoba government will facilitate a vote for our producers, because we believe it's very important that they have a say. We are prepared to hold our vote because this is what the producers are asking for. Across the country producers are saying, no matter what the decision, they want to have the say on how the decision should be made.
This is a very important turning point in western Canada. Some may not think this is extremely serious, but I think we have to look back at history and look at what happened to the Crow benefit and what the impacts of the loss of the Crow were on the western Canadian producer. Once that benefit was gone, despite the fact that producers did not benefit, there was no way you could bring it back.
I say to you that the Manitoba government will stand firmly with our farmers and do all we can to ensure that their voices are not silenced. We will fight to preserve this important western Canadian institute, which has many benefits, but ultimately it is the voice of the producers that must be heard.
I just want to add that there is a perception that farmers are forced to sell their product to the monopoly, but you have to realize--and I think you do--that it is the farmers themselves who are the monopoly. This monopoly, the Canadian Wheat Board, and farmers are one and the same. If you remove that monopoly from farmers, you remove the Wheat Board as we currently know it today.
Mr. Chair, with those comments, I want to thank you for the opportunity to share the thoughts of Manitobans. I urge you to act on behalf of western Canadian producers and give them the opportunity to have a vote and make a decision, as the legislation says they should be able to.
Thank you very much.