You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
FEDERAL BUDGET | APPROVAL<br />
Changes to grain act proceed<br />
Budget goes to Senate | Canadian Grain Commission funding to decline<br />
BY BARRY WILSON<br />
OTTAWA BUREAU<br />
<strong>The</strong> government’s mammoth budget<br />
bill, with its changes to the Canadian<br />
Grain Commission, was<br />
approved and sent to the Senate in a<br />
raucous House of Commons vote last<br />
week.<br />
Final approval could happen as<br />
early as this week before Parliament<br />
adjourns for a Christmas break that<br />
stretches into late January.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Senate agriculture committee<br />
already has completed and endorsed<br />
proposed changes to the Canada<br />
Grain Act, and the overall budget bill<br />
of more than 400 pages is expected to<br />
pass quickly in the Conservativedominated<br />
chamber.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bill sets up the grain industry<br />
for higher user fee charges while ending<br />
traditional mandatory services,<br />
including inward inspection<br />
between prairie elevators and terminals.<br />
Government funding for the grain<br />
commission will decline sharply and<br />
most of its funding will come from<br />
industry service payments.<br />
<strong>The</strong> system to guarantee grain handler<br />
payments to producers will<br />
switch from the current bonding<br />
system to a mandatory insurance<br />
model.<br />
Chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson<br />
told the Commons agriculture<br />
committee Dec. 5 that the commission<br />
changes are part of an historic<br />
grain sector policy overhaul that<br />
includes ending the CWB single<br />
desk.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> grain sector is at a pivotal<br />
juncture when public policies and<br />
regulatory structures need to keep<br />
pace with rapid changes in the marketplace,”<br />
he told MPs a day after the<br />
budget vote, which led to swearing<br />
and near fisticuffs on the floor of Parliament.<br />
<strong>Western</strong> Canadian Wheat Growers<br />
Association chair Gerrid Gust said<br />
that while recognizing the regulatory<br />
victories, the organization now has<br />
its sights set on other changes that are<br />
needed to help industry efficiency.<br />
He told MPs the government<br />
should follow these steps:<br />
• Outlaw strikes and lockouts in the<br />
railway system. “In our view, rail<br />
services should be deemed an<br />
essential service.”<br />
• End union rules at the Port of Vancouver<br />
that stop workers from<br />
loading grain if it rains more than<br />
five millimetres in a day. It is considered<br />
a safety hazard and delays<br />
loading of waiting ships. “We<br />
understand that ships load grain in<br />
the rain in Portland, Oregon, and<br />
around the world,” Gust said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is no need for Canadian<br />
farmers to be put at a competitive<br />
disadvantage.”<br />
• Introduce tough legislation,<br />
expected this week, to force railways<br />
to meet service standards for<br />
shippers.<br />
Meanwhile, Hermanson warned<br />
against arguments from some<br />
lobby groups that outward inspection<br />
at terminals sending grain to<br />
export should also be made voluntary.<br />
Unlike inward inspection, outward<br />
inspection helps guarantee customers<br />
of the quality and identity of the<br />
grain they are buying, he said.<br />
Outward inspection fees charged to<br />
the industry must increase as part of<br />
cost recovery, he added, but that is<br />
not a reason to make them voluntary<br />
at industry discretion.<br />
Several prairie grain groups that<br />
support deregulation said industry<br />
should have a choice about whether<br />
they want the service.<br />
Hermanson said mandatory outward<br />
inspection was cancelled in the<br />
United States in the 1970s, “and they<br />
had a wreck.” Mandatory U.S. outward<br />
inspection was reinstated.<br />
NEWS THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | DECEMBER 13, 2012<br />
“We just have to be very cautious<br />
that we don’t tamper with what has<br />
given us our Canada brand at the current<br />
time,” he told MPs.<br />
He said the commission is now sifting<br />
through the results of consultations<br />
on the proposed new fee structure,<br />
which will be implemented<br />
Aug. 1. <strong>The</strong> new rules will be<br />
announced soon.<br />
Many interveners said the government<br />
proposal to cover only $5 million<br />
of the commission budget as a<br />
public good should be sharply<br />
increased to lower industry costs.<br />
Right place. Right time.<br />
<strong>The</strong> superior placement and enhanced availability of Wolf Trax ®<br />
DDP ® Micronutrients guarantee more consistent, early plant<br />
uptake for optimum growth and productivity.<br />
Ask for Wolf Trax and deliver micronutrients to your<br />
crops on time. Call 855.237.9653, or visit wolftrax.com.<br />
SCAN THIS CODE FOR MORE ABOUT<br />
ON-TIME MICRONUTRIENT DELIVERY.<br />
Growing Forward ® wolftrax.com<br />
Wolf Trax ® , DDP ® and Growing Forward ® are registered trademarks<br />
of Wolf Trax, Inc. ©2012. Not all products are registered in all areas.<br />
Contact infomaster@wolftrax.com for more information. 19430 WP<br />
MAKING A HOLE<br />
CONGRATULATIONS TO WOLF TRAX FOUNDERS:<br />
2012 MANNING INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS.<br />
Shania Jack chops a hole through the ice for the opening of a fresh water<br />
hole on the Jack farm south of Portage la Prairie, Man. | BARB JACK PHOTO<br />
15
Change language