Canadian Wheat Board  Why will the so-called law and order government, intent on breaking the law, not follow the law set out in the Canadian Wheat Board Act and hold its own plebiscite before it introduces legislation to kill the single desk system?

Rail Transportation  Just for whom and why is the government making the reckless decision to destroy the Canadian Wheat Board?

Petitions  It asks for support for farmers in western Canada by allowing them to determine themselves the future need and role of the Canadian Wheat Board and allow for a plebiscite on the future of the CWB. As we all know, there was a plebiscite in which in excess of tens of thousands of prairie grain wheat farmers gave a very strong message that they tried to get to the Government of Canada to retain the Canadian Wheat Board.

Petitions  Speaker, as we all know, Canadian wheat farmers in the Prairies want to retain the Canadian Wheat Board. A vast majority have clearly indicated that in a plebiscite. This petition is calling for the government to be respectful of what the Canadian prairie farmers really want. We appeal to the minister reponsible for the wheat board to do the honourable thing and listen to what those prairie farmers are saying and allow the Canadian Wheat Board to continue on.

Canadian Wheat Board  On the one hand, approximately 40,000 Prairie grain farmers voted 62% to keep the Canadian Wheat Board. The Prime Minister declares that the vote means nothing, that it does not count. The Prime Minister, like the minister, says the Wheat Board must go. The CWB vote had a 66% turnout and 62% said yes, and yet in British Columbia the HST vote had a 52% turnout and 55% said to get rid of the HST.

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, because the Federal Court has ruled with respect to the Wheat Board question that the minister acted outside the framework of the law, I wonder if the government could tell us why it is proceeding with the legislation in the Senate when the matter is now back before the courts.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Is he working for American or Canadian producers? It is one thing to kill the Canadian Wheat Board, but are the Americans going to reduce their subsidies? No, they will not. They never negotiated anything like that. It is a win for the Americans, and that is the problem that we are seeing with the Conservative government.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my question is in regard to the Canadian Wheat Board. Given that the member is from Saskatchewan, I am sure he has the pulse of the community in terms of what the wheat farmers in Saskatchewan are saying with regard to the Canadian Wheat Board.

Canadian Wheat Board  A court of competent jurisdiction has ruled that the conduct of the Minister of Agriculture is “an affront to the rule of law”. Therefore, the minister has violated the Canadian Wheat Board Act and he has clearly violated the Prime Minister's guidelines. What are the consequences for ministers who violate the Prime Minister's guidelines?

Canadian Wheat Board  To the Prime Minister through you, Mr. Speaker, could I ask how it is that the government's intention is to proceed with the Wheat Board law and to ask the Governor General to give royal assent to the law when the court in question has said that the minister's conduct is an affront to the rule of law? Would the Prime Minister not agree that the government should at the very least wait royal assent until such time as all appeals have been exhausted with respect to the ruling of Mr.

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, in light of the judge's decision in Manitoba with respect to the Wheat Board, in which it states clearly the minister will be held accountable for his disregard for the rule of law, I wonder if the government can give us at least the assurance that the legislation will not be proceeded with as long as this matter is in front of the courts and as long as this judgment stands.

Agriculture committee  If it's not in the estimates, what will you be doing? My second question you may find a little more offensive. It is about the Wheat Board and the $200 million cap. There are a lot of people, including Stephen Vandervalk, who are plenty angry about this. From our perspective, and you can deny it, it's being used to fund the eventual liabilities for transitioning the Wheat Board.

Petitions  Speaker, this is a very timely petition given the government introduced Bill C-18, which is going to kill the Canadian Wheat Board. This petition is signed by many prairie farmers calling upon the government to respect the wishes of a majority of farmers. We all know that the majority of prairie grain wheat farmers want to retain the Canadian Wheat Board.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers  However, I take issue with the fact that he said that the members of the elected Canadian Wheat Board were not there to work for farmers. He is absolutely wrong on that. They were elected. The board changed at the beginning of 1998. It came out with somewhere around 10 options for farmers that it never had before.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers  I ask the minister, why the betrayal of farmers who have come from out west, farmers who rely on the Wheat Board? Fragmented, the Wheat Board shall fail, and he continually denies it. Why the betrayal?