Perfect.
I think you'll recall, Mr. Chair, that we did provide to the committee yesterday with some charts that set out the staging of the bill, as well as the transition phases. I'd just like to provide an overview of the legislation that is being introduced.
The intent of the legislation is that it be staged to provide for a dual marketing system, with a five-year transition period.
The bill has five parts. The first part is the governance of the board, which has changed to enable stronger collaboration going forward and to ensure that the board is focused on a new marketing environment. Specifically, future contracts will be possible, as of royal assent. The voluntary board will continue to administer this year's pool. The other major elements of the existing Canadian Wheat Board Act would remain unchanged during this preliminary phase, presumably from January to August 1.
In the second part, beginning on August 1, 2012, the Canadian Wheat Board Act would be repealed and replaced with the Canadian Wheat Board Interim Operations Act. The monopoly is then removed and anyone can buy and sell any grain; in other words, farmers would no longer be required to sell through the board. The government would assist the board with the transition costs for up to five years. Under this interim legislation, the Canadian Wheat Board would continue to offer pooling, which would have government-backed initial payment and borrowing guarantees. A temporary check-off would be established at point of sale to support ongoing research and market development.
In the third part of the act, the Interim Canadian Wheat Board would be required to develop a business plan to capitalize itself and operate as a private company. The intent is to look to the Wheat Board itself to define that business plan. The board of directors would be required to submit such a plan to the minister and would need to become a private entity within five years. The intent of the act here, of course, is due diligence, in terms of taxpayer money. It could be a business corporation, a producer co-op, or a not-for-profit corporation. The business model is for the board to decide.
Part 5 would repeal the Canadian Wheat Board Interim Operations Act and would bring the transition period to an end.
As you can see, these are the five phases set out in the legislation for discussion.