These comments are direct quotations from the Hansard
documents.
Illegal Licensing Costs
Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville, Canadian Alliance): Mr.
Speaker, the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board has been
notified of illegal activities at the Canadian Wheat Board in regard to
licensing costs.
Legislation clearly prohibits the Canadian Wheat Board from paying all
export licensing costs out of the wheat sales of western Canadian farmers,
yet the board has done it anyway.
How long has the minister known that this is happening and why has he not
corrected the problem?
Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Public Works and Government Services,
Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board and Federal Interlocutor
for Metis and Non-Status Indians, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the hon.
gentleman alleges that I have been informed of something. Quite frankly, I
have not been informed of it. If there are facts to be discovered here I
will find them out and I will take the appropriate action, but he should
make no allegation that I have not acted upon information that has been
known to me, because it has not been.
Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton-Melville, Canadian Alliance): Mr.
Speaker, the minister should read his mail.
The Canadian Wheat Board Act states that the minister "may...direct
the Corporation with respect to the manner in which any of its
operations... shall be conducted...", so clearly the minister has a
responsibility for licensing.
In addition to this, the buyback that farmers are forced to go through
does not have a legislative requirement. This has become like an extra fee
for Prairie farmers only. Ontario and Quebec do not have to buy back their
grain in order to export or process it. Why will the minister not correct
this problem as well?
Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Public Works and Government Services,
Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board and Federal Interlocutor
for Metis and Non-Status Indians, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, this is a matter
that falls within the purview of the management of the Canadian Wheat
Board. That management is responsible to the directors of the Canadian
Wheat Board and the directors are two-thirds elected directly by western
Canadian farmers. As long as I have been minister, I have never given the
Canadian Wheat Board a direction. I believe its authority should rest with
farmers.
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