Mr. Speaker, the issue of the Canadian Wheat Board and the amendments proposed is a very serious one.
The memory of the member for Prince George—Peace River seems to be short in terms of what happened and how we got from where we were in the hearings to these amendments today.
There were very extensive hearings in western Canada by the previous Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. Members of this House, myself included, attended hearings where extensive information was put forward by farmers. It is too bad the member was not there. He was in his own area. The standing committee put forward quite a number of amendments to the bill in terms of adopting what the producers wanted. They made the board more powerful from a farmer's point of view and catered to what farmers asked us to do.
I have said many times that without question the Canadian Wheat Board is an agency that is respected around the world. It is respected by Canadian farmers. It has done well for Canadian farmers since its institution in 1935. During difficult years in the grain industry it has been able to maximize returns back to producers.
When we compare our returns in net to those of the United States producers, we have usually and nearly always done better in maximizing net returns back to primary producers. It is not just taking a spot market here or a spot market there, but what is actually put back into the pocketbooks of farmers. The Canadian Wheat Board has been able to do well for farmers over the years.
I want to talk for a moment about some tactics by the opposition party and what it is really doing. The opposition members, especially those from the Reform Party, are playing into the hands of the major grain companies. In essence with the amendments they put forward today that is what they are doing. They would have the impact of weakening the marketing tools that western grain producers have available to them in terms of maximizing returns to themselves. They are really playing into the hands of the likes of Cargill grain and others.
I have had the opportunity to travel to the United States extensively in my experience over the years. It is interesting to talk to American farmers. Many of them wish they had an agency like the Canadian Wheat Board to give them the power that the Canadian Wheat Board has given to Canadian producers.
I want to quote what Robert Carlson of the United States national farmers union had to say before the House of Representatives agriculture committee: “From a competing farmers' perspective, we in the United States do not have a vehicle like the Canadian Wheat Board to create producer marketing power in the international grain trade. We basically sell for the best price among our local elevator companies and lose our interest in our grain after that point. Our export trade is dominated by a few—”