Ritz Moves To Cut Small Producers From Wheat Board Vote

OTTAWA - Small-time grain farmers from Canada's Prairies will be cut off from voting in elections for the Canadian Wheat Board under new legislation introduced Tuesday by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Bill C-57 will restrict the voters' list for the 10 elected members of the board of directors to "actual producers who produced at least 120 tonnes of grain in either of the two previous completed crop years."

Currently there is no production requirement and Ritz said in a statement the changes will ensure only active farmers get a vote, not those who have retired, rented out their land or only grow small amounts of grain as a hobby.

"You earn the right to call yourself a farmer by growing crops, not by filing paperwork," Ritz said in a news release.

Larry Hill, chairman of the Canadian Wheat Board, said he isn't sure yet how the change will affect voters' list. One hundred and twenty tonnes is not a huge amount of grain, he said, but he added that Tuesday was the first he'd heard of the change and the board hasn't had time yet to look at the idea.

The board meets for a regular meeting starting Wednesday and will discuss it then, said Hill.

"We will respond to the minister with what we think," said Hill.

Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter said he wonders why Ritz is introducing this bill now when his other wheat-board amendments to open up barley marketing have not even been brought to the House for debate yet.

"I am suspicious of it," said Easter. "I think there is more to this than meets the eye."

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