Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Charlebois, and in the same tone he also indicated that there were alternatives to help and fix the Wheat Board that exists. I will acknowledge that the Wheat Board needs to be tweaked, but I will not acknowledge that the Wheat

Privilege   government to move ahead with this legislation, despite its refusal to respect section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act, was an issue that, in abrogating the rights of farmers, was a matter demanding urgent attention by the Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board and by this House

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I present a petition with regard to the Canadian Wheat Board. The petition is signed by a number of prairie farmers who believe it is absolutely critical that the government reverse its decision in regard to getting rid of the Canadian Wheat Board. Earlier today we

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, while the member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands responded to my question by citing one person who favoured the end of the Canadian Wheat Board, I rise to submit a petition signed by countless western Canadian grain and barley farmers who are concerned

Agricultural Growth Act   seen the results of the changes to the Canadian Wheat Board this winter. Farmers used to received about 87% of the export price; now they are receiving about 48% of the export price. The corporate sector is gaining there. I would point out to the member that, in 2002, Canada

Privacy   is the government doing with that information? If farmers are out there demonstrating in favour of the Canadian Wheat Board, does it compile that data? When it gets that data, does it threaten to cut off their agristability? What about public servants demonstrating against job cuts? Does

Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act   continues to use time allocation to prevent members of Parliament from representing their constituents on important issues. One of the issues for me personally was in regard to the Wheat Board. There are so many bills, such as budget bills, for which time allocation is used. Why does

Privilege   of Natural Resources and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons have both confirmed that the elimination of the Canadian Wheat Board has been “a staple of Conservative election platforms.” That being the case, one must ask oneself why

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the crop year for the Canadian Wheat Board ends July 31. Typically, the board calculates final payments by December and issues cheques in January. Farmers depend on that timing. However, it is all contingent on government approval. The CWB asked for that approval

Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act  Mr. Speaker, I do not think, as my colleague said, that there is any question that there has been only short-term economic damage to producers as a result of the government's inaction on how to handle the system changes as a result of killing the Canadian Wheat Board

Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act   was right when he said there was nothing there. I read another interesting thing in The Western Producer. I might not have my figures exactly right. When the Wheat Board was in place, the cost of transporting a bushel of grain from the prairies to port was around $1.50 with probably 50

Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act   in and harvest it, with the price of fuel. Meanwhile, they were not moving their grain. It is blatantly clear that the Conservatives need to take another look at their failed rail act, Bill C-52. That was introduced last June. They scrapped the Wheat Board, and all of a sudden

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the agriculture minister has declared that the Wheat Board will be transformed, without disclosing his new model. The $5.1 billion wheat industry relies on the strength of the Wheat Board in negotiations for the sale of wheat, the procurement of contracts

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the remarks by the member for Cypress Hills. He claimed that the long-term irritant in his riding was the Canadian Wheat Board. We know his position, that it is to undermine the board and virtually destroy it. However, there is also another

The Budget   Board maximizes the returns back to primary producers from the international marketplace. That is why it is there. It was supported in the last election. Indeed, 80% of the elected directors are pro-Wheat Board. That tells us there is strong support from the farm sector. However