Mr. Speaker, one ruthless dirty trick after another has been employed by this government to bring the Canadian Wheat Board to its knees. These tactics are having a negative impact on the Wheat Board's ability to function and recently resulted in a reduced credit rating that is expected to deteriorate further.
The latest tactic is the wording of the crooked questions the minister has chosen to place on the barley plebiscite ballot, questions that one Winnipeg pollster has called “bizarre” and which another one thought were so bad that they must have been made in error.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers report notes the substantial economic benefits that the Canadian Wheat Board provides to farmers. It speaks of the voice it gives them on global trade, grain marketing, public policy, scientific research, brand development and transportation reform.
The study also notes that the Wheat Board is a significant contributor to Canada's economy and how its absence would soon see farmers dealing largely with foreign owned companies headquartered outside of Canada and the negative impact this would have on the economy.
Why does the government want to destroy the farmers' marketing power?