The member said that I had made that point before. Yes, certainly I have. The value of the Canadian Wheat Board does not seem to have sunk in with the member for Lakeland because he continues to attack it. He continues to talk about dual marketing, and there is no such thing. We cannot have single desk selling and an open market working at the same time. They are a contradiction in terms.
If we have a dual market we have an open market system and the open market system will undermine the very essence of what the single desk selling system is trying to do, which is to maximize returns to producers by preventing the negative competition that obviously the member for Prince George—Peace River supports. He obviously must support lower prices for grain producers because that is what his amendment would mean.
The Canadian Wheat Board has worked on three pillars of strength: single desk selling, price pooling and a partnership with the federal government which guarantees borrowings and initial prices.
The member for Prince George—Peace River was putting forward an amendment, I believe, to go to a full board.
I guess the key question is, would the board of directors under this new board have real power? I personally support an elected commission. They have done well over the years. We have appointed commissioners for their expertise in marketing. They have done a great sales job in China and in other countries. As I said earlier, the figures they have returned to producers are some $265 million per year over and above what they would have got if they did not have that board. I supported that system.
However, I clearly heard producers saying they wanted more control on the board. Now they are going to have that control with 10 or 15 directors. Will they have any real power? The answer is clearly yes. Contrary to what members opposite are saying, they will have real power. As in any modern day corporation, all of the powers of the Canadian Wheat Board will be placed in the hands of the directors.
The legislation clearly states that directors “shall direct and manage the business and affairs of the corporation and are vested with all the powers of the corporation”. That is what the legislation says. They are vested with the powers of the corporation.
They would certainly carry a heavy load of responsibility being in charge of a $6 billion enterprise.
The member opposite asks “What about the CEO?” The fact of the matter is, the directors will select one of their own to be chairperson. The Reform Party claims that the board should select the chief executive officer.
There is tremendous financial support from the taxpayers of Canada, from the Government of Canada, to western Canadian grain farmers through the Canadian Wheat Board, so certainly we have to have some say in terms of the appointment of the CEO.
It was backstopped last year to the tune of about $60 million, in terms of guarantees on borrowings and initial prices. That is a heavy financial commitment for Canadian taxpayers and we want to ensure that we have some say in terms of who is appointed CEO. But we also ensure in the legislation that the board will have a lot to say and will be consulted in terms of the CEO.
As I said, the directors will select one of their own to be chairperson. They will be consulted on the appointment of the president and will determine the remuneration of the president, the chair and the directors. If they do not like the CEO, they just lessen the remuneration. It is that simple.
They will oversee the Canadian Wheat Board's management and control and strategic direction.
If the directors were not satisfied with any aspect of the Canadian Wheat Board operations, they would be able to make the necessary changes. They would also be responsible for the introduction of new marketing tools such as cash trading, expedited adjustment payments and early pool cash outs.
The amendments put forward by the member for Prince George—Peace River would undermine this powerful marketing tool for western Canadian grain farmers. On this side of the House we want to stand by western Canadian grain producers. We want to ensure their prosperity in the future and one of the tools that they will have at their disposal is the new arrangements, the new powers, the new procedures granted to them by Bill C-4 which we are putting forward with the confidence that it will do the job we expect.