These comments are direct quotations from the Hansard
documents.
Liberal Patronage
Mr. David Anderson
(Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Wheat
Board is rapidly becoming a Liberal patronage rest home. After the last
election the campaign manager for the present Canadian Wheat Board
minister was hired as the board's lobbyist. Now that same minister has
appointed a director whose main qualifications are his Liberal connections
and his donation of more than $15,000 to the Prime Minister's leadership
campaign.
Why is the government
making prairie farmers pay the Prime Minister's political debts?
Hon. Reg Alcock
(President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian
Wheat Board, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we are still waiting for that member
to apologize for the allegations he last made about the Wheat Board.
Leaving that for the
moment, he may be interested to know that the Wheat Board does
considerable business internationally, has considerable interests in the
WTO, and considerable interests in China. The member chosen has experience
in all of those fields and is eminently well qualified to be a member of
the board.
Mr. David Anderson
(Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC): Mr. Speaker, when the Wheat Board
legislation was rewritten, the government required that five directors be
appointed by the government so that it could keep control of the board.
These appointments have become more and more political. The latest is
William Cheuk, who along with his business partners have donated more than
$100,000 to the Prime Minister and Liberal Party. He has little
agricultural expertise.
Why are western Canadian
farmers paying for Liberal patronage appointments?
Hon. Reg Alcock
(President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian
Wheat Board, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member will know that the
government does not appoint a majority of the members of the board. We
only appoint five. We appoint one from Manitoba, one from Alberta, two
from Saskatchewan, and then we alternate between Ontario and B.C. In this
case, we chose an individual who has experience before the WTO, experience
in marketing internationally and experience in marketing in China. He is
an excellent appointment.
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