"The loss of the CWB is not good for the environment or climate change"
To Pat Martin, M.P. and Opposition Critic on the CWB Issue Nov.6, 2011
Dear Mr. Martin
There are three issues that I would like to touch on in this letter. One is the conflict of interest of Chris Warkentin in voting on Bill C18, the second is that killing the CWB is harmful to the environment and the third is that (as I recall) it was the Senate of Canada that made the amendment to the 1998 CWB Act calling for a vote of producers before any additions or subtractions could be made to CWB single desk selling.
I would like to give you a good example of conflict of interest on the Bill to kill the CWB.
My M.P. is Chris Warkentin. Chris’s father, uncle and two brothers farm many thousands of acres in our area. They own all the land surrounding our farm and if any land becomes available in the area they seem to be able to buy it before anyone else has a chance.
I am 66 and was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma in April of 2009 (after aggressive treatment, I am currently in remission) and at that time our son took over the operation of the farm by borrowing to purchase part of the farm and renting the rest. We have 1600 acres under cultivation and a three and a half section government grazing lease where we pasture our cattle. It is a family farm operation. My brother and I homesteaded this land in the mid 1960s.
We ship our wheat by producer cars out of Sexsmith, Alberta and this saves us about $1200.00 per car in primary elevator charges, as well we generally get a better grade when it is graded objectively at the port by the Canadian Grain Commission staff. We also get accurate dockage and moisture. The value of the CWB single desk selling and the ability of the CWB to negotiate better transportation and service rates also is of significant economic benefit to our farm. This year we harvested about 650 tonnes of hard red spring wheat and we would ship this by producer car. It is naïve to think that in the absence of the CWB, the private grain companies will facilitate the shipment of producer cars that bypass their primary elevator system. Without the CWB to advocate on the transportation and service rates we could see rail transportation costs skyrocket, as well as primary and port elevation and cleaning charges. CN Rail is the monopoly railway in the Peace River area and the service is usually poor. The value of single desk selling also adds several dollars per tonne to the price we receive for the wheat that we produce and the CWB and the regulations in the CWB Act gives all farmers, both large and small, fair access to the handling and transportation system. Without the CWB the companies will be able to play favorites between large and small farmers or between farmers who speak out and challenge or criticize the system or the operations of the private companies.
The CWB Act, the regulations and the single-desk selling are what adds value to our farm of approximately 10 to 20 thousand dollars on this years wheat production alone. The CWB’s advocacy on transportation also benefits us with lower rail freight rates on our canola, peas, barley and oats that we also produced this year.
If smaller farmers such as my son are squeezed out of farm production there is another factor to consider. Big farmers with 80 and 100 foot wide equipment do not like trees or sloughs. When my brother and I homesteaded our farm we left two 10 rod wind breaks of trees on every quarter section. We still have several hundred acres of trees and wetlands on the farm and it is habitat for moose, elk, deer, bear waterfowl, hawks, eagles and much other wild life. With the concern about climate change we have no intention of clearing more land. When the Warkentins get control of another quarter of land they bulldozer and burn every tree from corner to corner and they drain the wetlands. They have done this on several hundred acres adjoining our farm in the last few years.
We have many hunters that come to our farm because we have left some habitat for the wild animals and the government manages the hunting in a sustainable manner. We share the land we control with others who enjoy getting out into the country.
Chris’s support for Bill C18 will put a further economic squeeze on our farm and may force my son to sell to the Warkentins or another larger farmer.
The loss of the CWB is also not good for the environment or climate change as it will disadvantage smaller farmers who may be forced to sell or rent to larger operators who will bulldoze and burn the trees, drain the wetlands and put bigger trucks on the roads, hauling longer distances to the increasingly centralized grain handling system.
When the CWB Act was amended in 1998, the Senate of Canada made three changes to the Act. As I recall, one of those changes was to require a vote of producers before any grain could be added or subtracted from CWB single desk marketing. By denying farmers the right to vote on the issue of CWB marketing of wheat and barley the Harper government in not only disrespecting farmers democratic rights but also disrespecting the wisdom of the Senate of Canada in making the amendment in the 1998 CWB Bill. (You might want to just check this out. One of the other Senate changes was to allow the Auditor General to do an audit of CWB financial transactions and to do it within the first two years of the new CWB Board)
I served as the elected representative to the CWB Advisory Committee for three terms (11 years). When the CWB Act was amended in 1998 I was elected to two terms as a CWB Director (8 years). I was Chairman of the Canadian International Grains Institute. I was the Vice President of the National Farmers Union for three years when Wayne Easter was President and I served as President of the NFU for two years. As my cancer is in remission and I am feeling well, thanks to a publicly funded health care system I have been able to help my son on the farm by putting in 15 hour days and we finished harvesting the crop on Nov. 2.
Sincerely,
Art Macklin
Grande Prairie, Alberta