It will be much weakened as an organization and farmers in Canada have lost the power to control the price of wheat.
We tried to save the Canadian Wheat Board but failed. It has been gutted. We supported the National Farmer’s Union. The bill to take away the automatic membership of farmers and take away its monopoly, making it a purely voluntary organization and dividing farmers politically — has passed through the Senate and been made law. This in spite of the fact that a plebescite of farmers showed the majority of farmers indicated in a that the Canadian Wheat Board is an important institution for farmers. In the Canadian Wheat Board Act it says that it cannot be dismantled without a vote from farmers. The Harper Government ignored this requirement and passed the bill into law without the agreement of farmers. The farmers of Canada have lost supply management in favour of open markets contolled by multinational agribusinesses such as Monsanto. How long will it be before they find they can no longer get any money for their grain? See the letter some people sent. It is a sad loss for our farming community. It will likely be fought to the Supreme Court, but by the time it goes through there will have been an open market for years and we will not be able to take it back. Now the question is: How can we influence the structure and nature of our food system in this new environment?
USC Canada on Food Security
CBAN — Canadian Biotechnology Action Network