Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to express my support for the Canadian Wheat Board.
Contrary to what some critics contend, the Canadian Wheat Board is not a monolithic dinosaur out of touch with Canadian producers. It is a viable, state of the art company that does an excellent job in marketing western Canadian wheat and barley for its customers, the men and women who work in the Canadian grain sector.
The board was set up in 1935 under pressure from farmers. It has become in the words of Dan Morgan in his study on trade,
"Merchants of Grain", the most powerful and prestigious marketing board in the world. The board has earned respect throughout the world for providing a quality product on time and as contracts specify. Its credibility in the world markets has been built over the years and it has delivered tremendous customer service.
The board is an example of an orderly marketing structure that best serves both Canadian farmers and Canadian grain customers. It markets all western Canadian wheat and barley products for export and domestically for human consumption. It costs the wheat board only 4.5 cents per bushel to market farmers' grain. All profits from the sales go to farmers. Because all western Canadian grain goes through a single desk, the Canadian Wheat Board can offer specific, consistent quality and supply to customers. As a result it can get the best price for western grain farmers.
The Canadian Wheat Board, like all organizations, is changing with the times. In an effort to maintain its competitive edge the Canadian Wheat Board commissioned the consulting firm of Deloitte and Touche Management Consultants in 1992 to take an outside independent critical look at the Canadian Wheat Board and how it operates. The fact that the Canadian Wheat Board took the initiative to do an in depth independent study proves the importance it places on proper management and accountability and its desire to strive to serve all customers' needs and to continue to be more efficient.
The study noted a number of areas for potential improvement. I am pleased to say that the board has implemented all the major recommendations handed down to it in the study. For example, the consulting firm noticed that the board needed to improve its long term planning. The board responded by developing a corporate vision, mission and a set of goals and strategic objectives. It has also streamlined and made improvements to its budgeting, management, planning and reporting system and has introduced a new performance evaluation system.
The Canadian Wheat Board's efforts have not stopped there. It is continually striving to make improvements in planning, management and operational aspects of its business. To ensure it operates efficiently, the Canadian Wheat Board also conducts an ongoing department by department audit of expenditures.
The level of service provided by the Canadian Wheat Board has greatly improved over the years. The Canadian Wheat Board has responded to demands for more market information beyond the annual report by providing a number of services and initiatives to keep its client producers well informed.
The board now issues regular pool return outlooks which give producers a good indication of where markets are heading. It also holds annual grain days meetings across the prairies where its staff meet producers to bring them new ideas and information and to listen their concerns.
The board is also using the tools of technology to become even more accessible to farmers. It has a 1-800 number and an electronic bulletin board. These initiatives show that the board has become proactive in its efforts to respond to customers' needs.
The board has also established price forecasting, undertaken new market development initiatives and developed enhanced risk management tools.
To help farmers tap into one of the most promising foreign markets, the board has opened a new office in Beijing. It also has a branch office in Tokyo and an excellent information network worldwide. This information network goes well beyond the scope of information available to individual grain producers or individual grain companies.
For all these reasons, the wheat board has proven that it is adapting to changing times and that it is providing a valuable service to farmers. This is not to suggest that everything is perfect. Everyone agrees that some changes are needed to continue to improve the grain marketing system.
That is why the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food set up the Western Grain Marketing Panel last summer. This panel will report very soon. The minister hopes to have legislation in place by the fall.
The panel worked hard for many months to provide a vast amount of very useful public information. It held 15 public town hall meetings across the prairies to provide information and to receive input and feedback from farmers and farm organizations.
The panel conducted three sets of formal hearings in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Regina. These hearings provided a formal opportunity for all those holding differing points of view to come forward with their best arguments, their best evidence to put the case for one system or another to be subject to examination and cross-examination to get all the facts on the table and a thorough analysis of all the pros and cons, all the benefits and all the consequences. The panel had that full, open, transparent hearing process so that everything could be examined in a calm, rational and intelligent way.
The panel is now in the final stages of finishing its report. We expect to have it at the beginning of July. Once we have that report from the panel, which consists of nine very well respected individuals that represent every shade of opinion on the subject, we will be in a much better position to make whatever decisions are necessary with respect to grain marketing.
I would encourage all members of this House to lend their support to that board. It is Canada's best marketing tool to help farmers compete in global markets and get the best prices for their products.