Okay.
I do know that the issue with regard to the Wheat Board relates to taxes, but I think you should be aware, Mr. McGowan, and the government should be aware, that this committee passed the following recommendation 48:
The federal government provide Western Canadian grains and oilseed farmers with a full and transparent accounting of the disposition of the Canadian Wheat Board’s assets since the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act received Royal Assent, and of the effects on the grain handling and marketing system since that time.
I went back, Mr. McGowan, and looked at the various annual reports of the Canadian Wheat Board. The last one I can find is for 2011-12. That's the last time there was a full disclosure on the Canadian Wheat Board's financial position. It's for the 2011-12 crop year, which ended July 31, 2012. When I look at that annual report, the Canadian Wheat Board that year was an operation with revenues of $7.213 billion. The annual report states:
On October 18, 2011 CWB received a directive through Order-in-Council P.C. 2011-1182 that all profits or gains (relating to non-pool programs) be transferred to the contingency fund unless a different disposition of those profits or gains is required under the Act.
It goes on from there to say that the surpluses were indeed transferred, and then states:
Under the terms of the Interim Act, effective August 1, 2012, the balance of the Contingency Fund was transferred to a new Contingency Fund and the upper limit for the fund was removed. Under the Interim Act, in addition to the uses of the Contingency Fund previously permitted under the Act, the Corporation may utilize the Contingency Fund for any activities set out in the annual corporate plan or on the approval of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.
Not to get lengthy on the matter, Mr. McGowan, or whoever can answer from Agriculture Canada eventually, what we have is pool accounts, non-pool accounts, the contingency fund being changed, an operation that was dealing with $7 billion in terms of revenue, and the public does not have an accounting of what happened to those monies since then. We don't have an accounting. We, as a finance committee and as a government, should be concerned.
It's not an issue of a Canadian Wheat Board or no Canadian Wheat Board. The people of Canada transferred another $349 million, I believe, to cover various issues relating to the old Wheat Board being shut down, to cover pensions and so on and so forth, but we don't have an accounting of that either. I can go into the annual report here, and it will spell out how many hopper cars the Canadian Wheat Board had at the time.
Greg Meredith, assistant deputy minister, was before this committee. I'll not get into the quote, but he basically said that there was a loss, and that therefore there were no assets to be disbursed to western grain farmers.
Well, where's the data? The public of Canada needs to see the data. We're making a decision here in terms of tax issues related to the new Canadian Wheat Board, but we do not know the disposal of the old Canadian Wheat Board, and I think the public should darn well know. That's why I'm raising this point.
Do you have anything to say on it, or can you provide the information? We do have a recommendation from committee. Whether you're pro-Canadian Wheat Board or anti-Canadian Wheat Board is beside the point. The fact of the matter is that we should know what happened to the assets of the Canadian Wheat Board after 2011-12. I can go back and show you annual reports for 30 years where you knew what the demurrage was, where you knew what the administration cost was per bushel, where you knew what the return was to the farmer on every bushel of grain sold and whatever pool account it was. Now we don't know.
I'm asking, Mr. McGowan, if you can provide us with information on whether there were assets. If there were assets or liabilities, what happened to them? Why has the Canadian public, especially western grain farmers, not been given a full accounting on this issue?