Mr. Speaker, I take great pleasure in speaking to the bill proposed by the member for Portage—Lisgar.
The member went to great length in his remarks about cash prices in the United States, price spreads and so on. However he failed to mention the times over the whole year that the Canadian Wheat Board returns to producers, to farmers, more dollars in their pockets than the American system returns to the pockets of its farmers. That is a fact. It has been shown over the history of the Canadian Wheat Board. All studies have shown that.
The 1995-96 annual report of the Canadian Wheat Board states “A performance evaluation conducted during the 1995-96 crop year showed Canada ranks highly with its customers in such areas as quality of product, customer service, technical support and dependability of supply”. The most important point is that another study conducted by three economists showed that the Canadian wheat board single desk system generates an additional $265 million per year in wheat revenue for farmers. That is what the Canadian Wheat Board does. It enhances Canada's competitiveness. The study also showed that the Canadian Wheat Board provides a low cost marketing service to farmers. That is performance.
Anyone who watches the market knows that at any given time we can pick a higher price here and a lower price there, but when we really do a study we find the facts are there. The Canadian Wheat Board with its single desk selling system returns more money to primary producers than what that dog eat dog system in the United States does for its primary producers. One of the reasons the United States Congress is having to pump subsidies into the farm community in the United States is that the Americans do not have a Canadian Wheat Board which can maximize returns to producers in the marketplace.
I do not want to be misinterpreted. Given the world situation and the way the United States and Europe are undermining prices in the world, our producers are finding it very tough. Thank goodness they have the Canadian Wheat Board to maximize the returns that are in fact in that marketplace.
I know the intent of the member for Portage—Lisgar is to try to assist producers. In the very short time I have left I will deal with the bill.
When we were in hearings in western Canada the producers indicated that they wanted the wheat board to have accountability and transparency. And of course we on the government side listened. We did provide that accountability within the board's structure.
When they are elected, the board of directors will have access to all Canadian Wheat Board operating data, including the prices at which grain was sold, the price premiums realized and the operating costs. They will be in a position to review the wheat board's operations. They will have the power to make changes that are in the best interests of farmers. In other words, the directors will be able to ensure that farmers are getting fair value for their money from that system.
This government made those changes and we stand by them. The board is there for farmers and we want to see it remain a single desk selling agency. We do not need this bill.