Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to debate this important bill in the House today. We have seen quite a bit of activity here talking about the low attendance in the House. I would agree that this is a very important bill for western Canadian farmers and people should be paying attention.
I would like to speak in support of my colleague from Yorkton—Melville and his introduction of a preamble to Bill C-4. The preamble I am interested in is the section where he says:
Whereas such an organization will have a very significant effect on the producers of grain and must therefore have the securing of the best financial return to them as its object and first priority and must be accountable to them for its performance.
Why would we want such a preamble introduced in the bill? I suggest it is because under section 5 of the current bill, there is no accountability to farmers. We did not have it in Bill C-72, it was not in the previous Canadian Wheat Board Act and we do not have it in this bill. This is an effort to try to bring some accountability by the Canadian Wheat Board to its producers.
In the recent M-Jay Farms case, the Canadian Wheat Board argued forcefully and successfully, I may add, that it is not accountable to farmers. It has always taken this position in court.
For example, in 1976 the Riske case, it found in favour of the board and not in favour of accountability to farmers. When the board is talking to farmers, however, it says quite the opposite. The board should not be allowed to speak from both sides of its mouth on this issue. Since the board is accountable to the minister and not farmers, I wish that the minister would stop letting the board misrepresent this position.
Mr. Hehn, Chief Commissioner of the board has said on many occasions, and I will quote: “We look forward to a strong and successful partnership with farmers of western Canada.” That is in the Canadian Wheat Board annual report of 1994-95. “There can be no partnership without accountability.” He also goes on to say on another occasion: “It is your grain and your marketing agency”, Grain Matters, January-February 1996—“With no accountability, again this is an absolute falsehood.”
I quote the Chief Commissioner of the board: “We are looking for ways to be more accountable to farmers.” Grain Matters, May-June 1996. He said this at the very same time that the board was before the courts arguing just the opposite.
In the grain case of the M-Jay Farms the board was arguing that there is no accountability to farmers by the board. It is only accountable to the ministers, and the courts found exactly that.
He goes on to say: “We are structured to do the job for farmers” the Edmonton Journal , October 11, 1996. Had he been totally truthful he would have said: “We are not accountable to farmers and we are in court here today to prove it.” And that is exactly what happened.
Furthermore there is nothing in the amendments to Bill C-4 that would make the board accountable to farmers. I refer to the board's section 5 which says, and I will read it. This part has not been changed at all. Section 5 says: “The board is incorporated with the object of marketing in an orderly manner interprovincial and export trade grain grown in Canada.” It says nothing about accountability to farmers.
If I read the findings of the court in the M-Jay case, where it ruled against M-Jay Farms, they said: “But the express purpose of the act as set forward in section 5 is not the maximization of profits for producers, but rather the orderly marketing of grain grown in Canada in interprovincial and export trade.” Essentially quoting section 5.
They go on in the court case to say “Taken in this view I take it that this statute is responsibility not to any individual producers but rather to the minister under the act”. The members on the other side ask us why we are trying to bring accountability into this House, why we would ask for it in the preamble to the act. We are doing it because they would not make changes to section 5. The court has found consistently that under section 5 the Canadian Wheat Board is not responsible to farmers but to the Minister of Agriculture. Nothing has been changed in the act. Section 5 has not been changed and therefore there is no accountability.