Mr. Speaker, as with the hon. member from the fifth party who just spoke, I am almost reluctant to speak to this bill in light of what has transpired over the previous month.
As the hon. member articulated, this bill has been rushed through from beginning to end. For the government to try to pretend to the viewing public, to the Canadian people and in particular to western Canadian farmers that it has used this process to bypass second reading and to hustle this bill off to committee, and it has used this process in order to try to better the bill, is an absolute fallacy. It is totally ridiculous when people take the time to view what has really transpired over the last while.
The way these amendments have been grouped is very odd. At some point in time I would like to have it explained to me how they came to be grouped the way they are. It is hard to rationalize how they have placed some 48 amendments into the various seven groupings.
Motion No. 1, which is the preamble, totally comprises Group No. 1 and was put forward by my hon. colleague from Yorkton—Melville. Part of the motion states:
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.
That is the key part of the preamble put forward by my hon. colleague for Yorkton—Melville. It sets the tone for the entire bill. I am very pleased on behalf of the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville to note that we have support for his Motion No. 1 from the other three opposition parties. That is important.
The public recognizes that it is sometimes very difficult to get unanimous support from all four opposition parties in this place. All parties view this as a very important preamble. Although some on the government side would say it is just motherhood and apple pie, it does set the tone for the entire bill.
I will read a letter into the record that came to me from the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association that was sent to the hon. Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board. This letter indicates the level of dissatisfaction with this bill that exists within the farming community: “I append a copy of a news clipping listing the organizations which support the inclusion clause in Bill C-4. They are: the National Farmers Union, Family Farm Foundation, Catholic Rural Life Ministry, Concerned Farmers for Saving the Wheat Board and `several' Saskatchewan Wheat Pool delegates of which there are 123 in total”.
It goes on to say: “The coalition against C-4 has the following membership: the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, Flax Growers of Western Canada, Oat Producers Association of Alberta, Alberta Winter Wheat Producers Commission, Western Barley Growers Association, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association, Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, Winnipeg Commodity Exchange, Western Canadian Wheat Growers Associations”.
Then it poses the interesting question to the minister: which of these groupings do you feel better represents the interests of western Canadian farmers? If you believe—and it is hard for me to think otherwise—that the second group better represents the views of farmers, could you please explain to me why, against the opposition of these groups, Bill C-4 still contains the inclusion clause?” The letter is signed by Mr. Larry Maguire, President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Maguire did not write the letter on behalf of one organization that the government would care to discount by saying that it had always been anti-wheat board and pro-free choice, pro-free marketing. He wrote it on behalf of a coalition of many groups that represent literally tens of thousands of farmers who are concerned not only about the inclusion clause but about a lot of clauses and the very scope of this legislation.
First let me say at the outset that we will be debating seven groups of amendments and many members I am sure will get up seven times to speak to various facets of the legislation.
I hesitate to keep saying this because to a certain extent it angers me as a former grain producer who grew grain for 20 years under the Canadian Wheat Board. Reform is not opposed to the Canadian Wheat Board. I say that because at times it seems that some of our political adversaries like to paint us in that light. Reform is not opposed to the Canadian Wheat Board. We want to see it improved, strengthened and address the real needs of western Canadian grain farmers. Above all, we want the wheat board to be accountable to the farmers. However, we do not see that in this legislation.
I indicated during my 10 minute intervention before this bill was shunted off to committee that first and foremost we want the Canadian Wheat Board to be made voluntary. Until farmers have the ability to opt in or opt out or market their grain through the board or through the private sector, I do not think farmers will really be supportive of the existence of the Canadian Wheat Board as we know it now.
There were comments made earlier by my colleague from the New Democratic Party about the groups of witnesses. I think all of us on the opposition side at committee were very disappointed in the process there, where witnesses who had travelled at considerable expense and time to appear before the committee were lumped together and there was not really an adequate chance to listen to them and have an honest open debate and exchange of information. It really puts pay to the argument by the government that the reason why it superseded second reading and put the bill off to committee was to try to better the bill. That simply did not happen.
To show how divisive this bill is, it actually accomplished the near impossible. The minister has accomplished the near impossible. He has managed to alienate almost every single Canadian farmer, every single person who is involved in grain production and transportation in western Canada with this one piece of legislation. To show just how divisive it is, imagine the Canadian Wheat Board advisory committee of 11 farmers itself being split and the majority of those producers calling for the complete withdrawal of the legislation.
I want to read an excerpt from the November 6 front page of the Western Producer newspaper quoting the remarks of the chair of the Canadian Wheat Board advisory committee: “Macklin disputed government claims that one of the results of the legislation will be to democratize the wheat board and turn power over to farmers thought the two-thirds of board members they can elect”. Then there is direct quote: “We think this new structure will be more subject to political manipulation than the old structure”.
I completely agree with that assessment. I think this bill is not going to address the needs. In fact, it is going to continue to sow the seeds of divisiveness in western Canada instead of addressing the real needs out there.