Conservatives Pull Out All Stops To Ram CWB Bill Into Law

CO-OPERATOR CONTRIBUTOR / OTTAWA The Conservatives have the legislation to strip the Canadian Wheat Board of its wheat and barley monopoly on a forced march through Parliament. Second reading debate began Oct. 19 and was set to conclude Oct. 24 as theCo-operatorwas going to press. The government will use its majority to give the bill

Millions For Churchill

The Port of Churchill is getting millions of federal dollars to help it adjust to an open market starting Aug. 1, 2012. Eighty-five per cent of the total traffic, and almost all of the grain exported through Prairie Canada s only seaport, comes from the Canadian Wheat Board. Last year it exported 659,000 tonnes of


Transition Report Rejects Regulation

Let the market work. That s what the working group on the transition to an open market and voluntary Canadian Wheat Board Aug. 1, 2012 advises Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in its report released Sept. 28. The government should let the open market function and intervene only where necessary to address actual market failures, the

Farmers Reap $35 Million In Transportation Savings

STAFF / The Canadian Wheat Board says it saved western Canadian farmers $35 million in grain transportation during the previous crop year, through programs designed to reduce producers costs for moving their grain to port. Farmers bear all the costs of grain transportation, so the CWB is constantly looking for ways to keep those costs


Market Power: 50 Years Forward, 50 Years Back

As a farmer, I m alarmed at an elected government denying farmers a say in arguably the most important question in the history of Prairie farming. Without the marketing and representative power of the Canadian Wheat Board, grain farmers would be a scattered bunch of thousands peddling their wares to a handful of powerful grain

Is Supply Management Next?

The Conservative government s decision to end the Canadian Wheat Board s monopoly has supply management s critics in the media, business and academia sharpening their knives. Not surprisingly, the detractors are saying it s also time for an open market in milk, eggs, chicken and turkey. If marketing freedom and open markets are good


Churchill’s First Grain Ship Arrives

Churchill’s port may not survive the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board, says Manitoba’s minister through Churchill, then this port doesn’t have a very bright future.” Last week, the MV Pacific Bulker loaded approximately 27,000 tonnes of Canada Western Red Spring wheat destined for Nigeria. Wheat and barley represent most of Churchill’s traffic, Struthers noted.

In Brief… – for Aug. 4, 2011

CWB lowers new-crop PROs:The Canadian Wheat Board has lowered new-crop wheat, durum and barley values for the upcoming crop year beginning August 1. In setting its latest PROs, the board cited U.S. economic uncertainty; a higher Canadian dollar; increased production in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan; higher Russian wheat sales; improving durum production outlook, and reduced weather


CWB Working On Open-Market Model

The Canadian Wheat Board is working on a model for converting the single-desk seller of western barley and wheat into an open-market grain company. But for this “new entity” to survive the federal government must make major concessions, including assuming CWB employees’ pension liability, says chair Allen Oberg. “It’s our view that it’s the government’s

Wheat Board Should Get On With New Role: Richardson

The Canadian Wheat Board should not receive ongoing government help after its grain-marketing monopoly ends, but needs to quickly plan for a new role, the head of Richardson International Limited, Canada’s second-largest grain handler, said on July 7. Canada’s Conservative government, which holds a majority of seats in the House of Commons, plans to pass