Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to participate today, on behalf of the members of the Bloc Quebecois, in this debate on the motion put forward by the hon. member for Calgary Southwest regarding the Canadian Wheat Board. I am pleased to participate in it and say that the members of the Bloc Quebecois will oppose the motion for the following reasons.
Let us start by making clear what the Canadian Wheat Board is about. Many people in the francophone community, particularly in Quebec, are less familiar with the Canadian Wheat Board. I would like to explain briefly what it does and say a few words about the three pillars on which it rests. Finally, I will state the Bloc Quebecois's specific position.
The Canadian Wheat Board is an organization run by grain producers which markets the wheat and barley produced in western Canada. The CWB, whose head office is in Winnipeg, is the largest wheat and barley dealer in the world, controlling more than 20% of the trade on the international market.
The Canadian Wheat Board is a leading Canadian exporter; each year, it sells more than 20 million tonnes of grain to more than 70 countries around the world, representing sales between $4 billion and $6 billion. The total proceeds, minus marketing costs, are distributed among the grain producers in western Canada.
This Board is governed by a 15-member executive, 10 directly elected by western producers, and the other 5 appointed by the federal government.
The board was established in 1935 as a voluntary marketing agency to provide producers with a government-guaranteed initial price and to stabilize the grain futures market. By the 1940s, the increasing demand for grain created by the war and the failure of the futures market led the government to grant monopoly powers to the Canadian Wheat Board.
The Canadian Wheat Board is based on three pillars. The first is single desk selling. Instead of competing against one another for sales, western Canada's 85,000 wheat and barley farmers sell as one through the CWB and can therefore command a higher return for their grain.
The second is price pooling. Price pooling means that all CWB sales during an entire crop year are deposited into one of four pool accounts; one for wheat, one for durum wheat, one for feed barley, and another for designated barley. This ensures that all farmers delivering the same grade of wheat or barley receive the same return at the end of the crop year regardless of when their grain is sold between August 1 and July 31.
The third is a government guarantee. Prairie grain producers get an initial payment upon delivery of their grain and the Government of Canada guarantees this payment. The initial payment is equal to about 75% of the CWB's best estimate of the average market price for wheat and barley to be sold over the course of the crop year. As well, the federal government guarantees the CWB's borrowings that are currently about $6 billion.That is how the Canadian Wheat Board operates.
Now I will outline the position of the Bloc Quebecois. First, we are against this motion, because it would lead to the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board. Second, we oppose the motion because it condones illegal acts by certain farmers. And, third, collective marketing must be strengthened rather than dismantled. Indeed, our agricultural sector, both in Canada and in Quebec, is based on supply management or marketing agencies, which are absolutely critical to the sector.
The Canadian Alliance motion comparing western production to that of the rest of Canada is a lame one. Quebec's production and western Canadian production are completely different. Western Canada produces for export, whereas in Quebec, farmers produce for local consumption and for exchange with other farmers.
Agriculture in Quebec has developed thanks to collective management, supply management, joint planning and cooperatives. We believe that these types of mechanisms are necessary to protect farm revenues.
Given that the Canadian Wheat Board is being attacked on all fronts by the United States, it would be unwise to change its role. On October 24, 2002, the U.S. commerce department announced that it would be investigating the Canadian Wheat Board's wheat trading policies and practices. The department could decide to charge duties as of December 27, the date announced for its preliminary decision regarding countervailing duties. The department's final decision will be handed down by March 12, and its antidumping ruling will be made by May 27.
American producers claim that the activities of the Canadian Wheat Board contravene trade agreements. Since 1990, the United States has investigated the Canadian Wheat Board's operations nine times. These investigations all confirmed that the commission respected international trade rules.
We believe that any changes to the role of the Canadian Wheat Board at this time could be perceived as a surrender of sorts. It is important that the federal government stand firm and defend the supply management and collective management mechanisms set up by producers.
Marketing boards, such as the Canadian Wheat Board, reflect domestic policy. These policies will be developed in Canada and Quebec by our farmers.
In short, we believe that the Canadian Wheat Board and collective marketing must be enhanced rather than dismantled. We would however agree to adjustments being made to the CWB. Let me give three examples in this respect. Pilot projects focussing on the development of local processing activities could be approved. Accommodations could be made for organic wheat producers. Efforts could be made to ensure that small and medium sized businesses are better represented in the various organs of the CWB.
These are the kinds of changes that may prove beneficial, and be acceptable. But as far as the current proposal by the Canadian Alliance is concerned, we can only oppose it fiercely. The Union des producteurs agricoles in Quebec also opposes it because, like us, its members want to defend supply management vigorously. They believe that structured marketing is an important vested right in our farming system. They also believe that any change to the Canadian Wheat Board would be perceived as weakening our position vis-à-vis the Americans.
Much as the CWB does, the UPA would like to organize the Quebec industry in such a way as to give producers greater influence over prices by putting in place a collective marketing mechanism. The UPA does not condone the extreme actions to which western farmers have resorted and also rejects this proposal.
The position of the Bloc Quebecois is clear. We oppose this motion because we want to protect marketing boards and their supply management programs.