Wheat Board sale is at the expense of Canadian farmers, Greens say

(OTTAWA) - Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, issued the following statement regarding the sale of the Canadian Wheat Board to the Saudi-owned Global Grain Group:

“It is shocking to see the Harper Conservatives ignore the wishes of so many grain farmers. They paid for and built the Wheat Board as a protection.  It negotiated with railways, kept grain prices fair, and worked to ensure sound agricultural policies were implemented at all levels of government. 

“With the giveaway of the Wheat Board to the Global Grain Group, our grain farmers are more vulnerable than ever to economic downturns and price fluctuations. Without the Canadian WheatBoard protections, they are at the mercy of foreign corporations.

“Canadian grain farmers are a critical component of our agricultural exports and are strong pillars in their communities. We need a government that considers the impacts of its decisions and one that won’t betray our farmers. As a parliamentarian, I will demand better details of this so-called ‘sale’. Are the Saudi investors paying fair market value? Or are the Harper Conservatives giving them our public assets in exchange for a promise of investment?”

Kate Storey, the Green Party’s Agriculture Critic and candidate for Dauphin – Swan River – Neepawa, continued:

“Canadian farmers built the Wheat Board – we paid for the building, the railcars, and the ships out of our grain cheques. The majority of farmers wanted to keep the Wheat Board but now that it’s gone, we should at least get the value of our assets returned to us.

“There may have been a few who wanted to get rid of the board but most of us appreciated the work that the Wheat Board did for keeping the railways in line, organizing the flow of grain, and raising the value of Canadian wheat. Most understood that if we waited a few months for our grain cheque, we would all be better off in the end.

“We see the difference between the price the grain company gives us compared to the price they get for our grain, and we are not happy. The sale of wheat and barley is like the Wild West now – the few who have advantages will prosper at the expense of the rest of us.

“Farmers are now at the mercy of grain companies and railways. We have lost the market protections we built and the Wheat Board assets we owned. That is not freedom. It is theft.”

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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca