Menzies Attends Meeting Between The CWB And Industry Groups

January 29, 2008

OTTAWA – Today, Ted Menzies, MP for Macleod and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, participated as an observer, in the meeting between The Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, and industry groups, producers, grain handlers and malting companies to discuss the future of the barley industry.

The meeting focused on finding ways to address the entire industry’s concerns on the lack of transparency for marketing of Western barley, and for implementation of a better system as soon as possible. This was an opportunity for the key barley industry players and farm groups to be in a room with the CWB to discuss some real options that will deliver marketing choices.

“The attendees at the meeting represented the majority of Barley acres in Western Canada. The unanimous submissions from producers, processors, handlers and brewers of malt barley raised the alarm that the CWB’s ‘Cashplus program’ will reduce acres within Western Canada.” said Menzies.

The participants agreed that the ‘Cashplus program’ will not work and that deregulation, likely through legislation, is the right step. Furthermore, they reinforced that acres will be down substantially if farmers can’t see immediate action through cooperation between the Minister and the CWB. Furthermore, industry raised the alarm that with ‘cashplus’ they won’t even consider building a new plant, not only in Western Canada, but neither in Canada as a whole.

“Farmers demand and deserve accurate and transparent price signals back to the farm gate,” stated Menzies, “And this Government is determined, from the Prime Minister down, to deliver on that for our producers”.