Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Speaker, Conservative MP after Conservative MP talks about the reduction in average acres and they try to blame the Canadian Wheat Board. As in many other things, they have absolutely no evidence, not a shred, to demonstrate that is the case. If anything, the CWB, and of course our good farmers, but the brand of CWB is one of the reasons that we sell the amount of wheat that we do, that we have the market we currently have.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  My colleague made reference to how critical the supply management system is, much in the same way as the Canadian Wheat Board is. It protects industries in many different ways. It ensures a fair market price. It protects tens of thousands of jobs across the country. This bill is not about freedom. This is about the impact the bill will have on the prairie farmer.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  The act, under section 12, says: Every person holding office as an elected director of the Canadian Wheat Board immediately before the day on which this Part comes into force ceases to hold office on that day. Have those farmer elected directors not done a good job in increasing processing capacity and in maximizing returns to farmers?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The minister made that comment the other day. The Wheat Board reports in an annual report every year. The board has said itself that it has reported. Why does that member, his minister and the parliamentary secretary continue to provide misinformation to this House and Canadians?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  They speak of the profits that large Canadian grain companies are going to suddenly make, and they are not going to make those profits because they are going sell the wheat for more: they are going to make them because they will be taking the profits from the farmers. In fact, Viterra's shares spiked when Canadians found out that the Wheat Board would be gone shortly. Alliance Grain Traders is suddenly going to open up a pasta-making plant. Why? I propose it is because it knows it will get its grain for a cheaper price. I ask this simple question: why does the hon. member not look at those facts, instead of the ideology that he is basing his decision on?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  I find it amazing that the Minister of Agriculture and several colleagues, obviously with speaking notes from the PMO, stood and talked about the fact that the Canadian Wheat Board was designed in 1943 and that there have been no changes since. Yes, there were. In 1997, the board was changed to include 10 farmer elected directors, time at a time, and by the way it includes the director in the parliamentary secretary's riding who is pro-board.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Then we read in The Wall Street Journal how it is heralding the opportunities that dismantling Wheat Board would give large Canadian and international grain companies which would now be sucking the profits out of farmers out west and keeping them for themselves and their shareholders. I wonder if the member for Malpeque would express any concern he might have for western Canadian small farms and communities.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Would he support prairie farmers being able to have direct influence on what is happening with the Wheat Board?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  In the case of wheat, as I understand it, 62% of those who responded said that they would like to keep the single desk Canadian Wheat Board as is. For those 62%, on the assumption that is correct, what would my colleague say to those 62%, assuming that they gave their heartfelt opinion about wanting to keep the single desk?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  The Liberals might only have two seats in the Prairies and the NDP may only have three seats in the Prairies, but it just means that we have great potential for growth. That member is feeding that growth. Personally, I would just as soon say to keep the Wheat Board and go from there.

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives thought they could get away with their anti-democratic attack on western Canadian family farms with no fuss. Funny how people react when the government ignores them. Protests against the Conservative plan to kill the single desk system by farmers today in Saskatchewan will lead to more next week in the face of the government's false claims that farmers support its ideological plan.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  You have made it clear that you and some others will gain from it. Yet, I talk to farmers who do want to get rid of the Wheat Board who have admitted to me that thousands of farms will close because there are farmers who are past the average age of 50 who will not be able to withstand the transition. As a consequence, those small farms will close.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Eventually, this should lead to consolidation and fewer, bigger farms—making Canada a more competitive wheat producer, but devastating small prairie towns, whose economies depend on individual farmers with disposable income. There is a valid argument to be made that the government, by killing the Wheat Board, is going to be destroying family farms, that it is going to be making it that much more difficult for some of those rural communities to survive. Would the member not agree that there is some merit to what has been printed in this story, as story published by a news organization that is known throughout the world and is fairly well-respected?

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  However, they are assisted in that process by the Canadian Grain Commission, the Canadian International Grains Institute as well as a number of other agencies that research and work on new plant varieties and in some cases attempt to resurrect historic varieties such as the one the hon. gentleman referred to. It is an integrated system. All of the pieces fit together. The Canadian Wheat Board has been an integral piece in that puzzle. Therefore, if we remove the board we will in fact put a number of the other pieces in jeopardy, which by implication the government's announcement actually admits.

Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Time after time Conservative members of Parliament have said the farmers want to get rid of the Canadian Wheat Board. However, 62% of prairie grain farmers actually want to keep it. That is the vast majority in my books. Could the member comment on that?