If the member does not want to believe it, he can talk to every farmer from the Ontario-Manitoba border to British Columbia. They will tell him that they will need more funds. They cannot make ends meet. If we do not do something to increase the prices of grain or the income of farmers, the government will have a catastrophe on its hands like it has never seen before. Why not let them market their grain if they can get a better price?
I am astounded that as politicians we cannot listen to people when they tell us what is wrong. We have been across western Canada twice listening to the farmers. The Senate has been across western Canada. The farmers want a choice. I can guarantee the House that if it were a voluntary wheat board and there was trust in the wheat board it would market more wheat board grains than it would probably market special crops grains. It has been proven in other areas. They do not have accountability or trust. They do not want to listen to what farmers tell them.
If the wheat board did the job like it is claiming to do, it should have absolutely no objection to the auditor general looking at the books.
If there is nothing to hide why are we fighting tooth and nail to allow the auditor general to audit the books? To me there is something wrong. If Revenue Canada does not trust me it can audit my books. Since I started criticizing the wheat board and demanding accountability I have not had a five year audit but an audit every year. Is that not strange? All my life I was never audited until I started objecting to the practices of the Canadian Wheat Board. Tell me what is the problem.
If Revenue Canada found out that I had violated the law I would expect it to prosecute. Is that why the wheat board is hesitant to allow anybody to look into its books? If it is honest and if its books are in order it should have no problem with them being audited.