By Colleen Hennan

MPs clash over Canadian Wheat Board

Jun 8, 2011 | 9:16 AM

Two of Saskatchewan's senior MPs continue to disagree about the Canadian Wheat Board. But whether Liberal MP Ralph Goodale agrees or not Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz, says the government is still going ahead with the changes.

Goodale says farmers are supposed to have a say when it comes to changes to the Wheat Board.

Ritz says Goodale is half right.

“There is a vote required if you’re changing commodities that the board handles, adding or subtracting. But when you’re fundamentally changing the full act that comes down to the supremacy of parliament,” Ritz explained. He added they had been assured by legal professionals that removing the act is quite different than just moving a commodity.

As for the way farmers feel about it Ritz says they already made their decision.

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“I think I would point to the federal election that we just had. Certainly, if you assess all of the rural polls in the Wheat Board area you’ll see that we all gained substantially in that. Everybody campaigned very openly on and transparently on changes to the Wheat Board,” he said.

Legislation to end the board's monopoly is coming in the fall and will take effect August 2012.

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