Mr. Speaker, I rise today not only as the member for Saskatoon--Humboldt but as the son, the grandson and the great-grandson of western Canadian grain farmers.
I rise today to support farmers having choice for marketing of barley and wheat. Currently, farmers in western Canada are forced to market their non-feed barley and wheat through a forced collective known as the Canadian Wheat Board, an institution whose monopoly powers were imposed during World War II for the sole purpose of bringing down the price of wheat.
In the upcoming weeks, farmers will vote on whether or not to loosen the powers of the CWB with respect to the marketing of barley. They will be given two options that would allow them more freedom in marketing their barley.
While the freedom to market one's own products should be self-evident, farmers have to fight for this right. The choice is clear: a totalitarian board and the low barley prices it has delivered, or change, with more freedom and higher prices for the barley growers of the Canadian prairie.