Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak today on private member's Bill C-283, a bill that would require the accounts and records of the Canadian Wheat Board to be audited annually by the Auditor General of Canada.
As the hon. member is no doubt aware, Bill C-4, an act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board, received royal assent in June of this year. One of the amendments to that legislation, passed by the other place, relates to the financial accountability of the Canadian Wheat Board to the farmers it serves. That amendment, endorsed by the government, the BQ and the Progressive Conservatives in a vote of 197 to 60, allows for the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a one time audit of the accounts and financial transactions of the Canadian Wheat Board and report the findings to the producer controlled board of directors and the minister responsible.
A major thrust of Bill C-4 is to give farmers control of their marketing agency by establishing a 15 member board of directors with 10 of those positions, a full two-thirds majority, to be filled by producer elected directors. The board of directors will be in charge of overseeing Canadian Wheat Board operations. These directors will have access to all information and facts and figures regarding Canadian Wheat Board operations, including selling prices for grain. In other words, Bill C-4 has put producers in the driver's seat.
The legislation the member for Portage—Lisgar is proposing would take the keys away from farmers and give control back to the government. The government believes that with the full knowledge of the inner workings of the Canadian Wheat Board the directors are in the best position to assess what information should be made public and what, for commercial reasons, should remain confidential. They will be in the best position to assess Canadian Wheat Board operations. The recent changes to the Canadian Wheat Board Act will give the producer controlled board of directors the power to make changes to these operations.
The government recognizes that producers are entitled to know how their marketing agency is working for them. The Canadian Wheat Board works for them, not the other way around. Therefore how it conducts its business is their business.
Hon. members must bear in mind, however, that the Canadian Wheat Board is a major competitor in international grain trade. With $6 billion a year in sales, it is Canada's fifth largest exporter. It markets wheat and barley on behalf of western Canadian grain producers to more than 70 countries around the world. In other words, the Canadian Wheat Board is a big player in international markets. Grain trading on this scale is a highly competitive business where information is king and confidentiality is paramount to ensure the highest possible returns to farmers.
Who is selling to whom and for how much is highly guarded commercial intelligence that in the hands of its competitors could jeopardize the wheat board's ability to extract premiums from the marketplace. That in turn would affect the bottom lines of more than 110,000 prairie grain farmers.
Obviously then a balance is needed between transparency and accountability to producers and ensuring that Canadian Wheat Board operations and records are not subject to significantly greater levels of public access and scrutiny than the private sector grain companies it competes against.
That is very important and it is important to understand that.
With that in mind and to enhance the transparency and accountability of the wheat board the government supported the amendment to the legislation to allow a one time audit of the accounts and financial transactions of the Canadian Wheat Board by the auditor general.
Therefore, and this is important to understand, the general intent of this private member's bill is already incorporated in the new law.