Party’s Still Off

The decorations for Barley Freedom Day party are still packed away, but opponents of the Canadian Wheat Board hope they’ll get to celebrate soon.

Mary MacArthur

In 2007, then federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl declared Aug. 1 Barley Freedom Day, the day Western Canadian farmers could sell their export and malt barley without going through the single-desk selling monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).

The day before the celebration, a federal court judge ruled the feds had overstepped their authority when they tried to strip the CWB of its monopoly.

In the year since the party was dashed, farmers and governments have continued to line up on either side of the debate. When it comes to the CWB, there is no middle ground.

On July 31, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers released a report saying that a new study by American-based Informa Economics showed the CWB cost Prairie farmers between $450 million and $626 million per year in lost revenue and higher system costs. The study, commissioned by the Alberta government, and using statistics from Quorum Corp., the federal grain monitory agency, estimates that an open market would improve Prairie farm returns by a minimum of $20.34 per tonne for wheat, $39.54 per tonne for durum wheat, $13.72 per tonne for feed barley and $25.57 per tonne for malting barley.

“In the face of these findings, how can anyone rationally justify the CWB monopoly?” asked Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, president of the Wheat Growers.

The CWB and the federal agency which supplied the statistics cited in the report have disputed the study. The agency warns marketing systems can’t be compared using their export basis figures.

“The study is badly flawed,” said Ian White, the CWB’s chief executive officer.

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