Newsroom
2007
Farmer control affirmed, CWB to provide maximum value for barley farmers
July 31, 2007
Winnipeg - The CWB will continue to evolve and adapt to provide maximum value for western Canadian barley farmers, after a court ruled today that the federal government cannot change the way barley is marketed without Parliamentary approval.
“The farmer-controlled board of directors has gone a long way to provide flexibility in terms of pricing, payment and delivery -- and we've got plans to go even further,” said Ken Ritter, chair of the CWB’s farmer-controlled board of directors. “We will work hard to find new ways to create marketing choices for farmers without stripping away the marketing power of their single desk”.
While today’s ruling means the single desk remains intact for barley, Ritter says it will not be “business as usual”. The CWB will accelerate the evolution begun several years ago to transform the corporation into an entity that effectively responds to farmers’ business needs without sacrificing market premiums generated through the power of the single desk.
“Now that the court has brought clarity to the process, our path is clear to continue with renewed vigour to make improvements that producers want for their marketing organization,” Ritter said.
Today’s ruling affirms farmer control of this organization and is good news for all farmer-controlled marketing agencies,” said Ritter. “Ten of the 15 members of the board of directors are democratically elected farmers and we, together with our government-appointed colleagues and our CEO, are responsible for charting a course to take the CWB into the future.”
The CWB had argued that it was beyond the federal government’s jurisdiction under the Canadian Wheat Board Act for the government to push through regulatory change and that the 1998 amendments to the CWB Act gave control of the CWB to farmers, not the government. The reasons for Madam Justice Dolores Hansen’s decision can be found on the CWB Web site at www.cwb.ca.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all revenue, less marketing costs, to farmers.
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For more information, contact:
Maureen Fitzhenry
Media Relations Manager
Tel: (204) 983-3101
Cell: (204) 227-6927