Ontario Farmers Free to Market Their Own Grain - No CWB Buy-Back
Ted Gorski is an Ontario farmer. He farms about 2,600 acres at
Harrow, a quaint community about 30 miles south of Windsor, Ontario.
His acreage is large by southern Ontario standards.
One of the Directors of the Prairie Centre Policy Institute, Ken
Dillen, visited Mr. Gorski recently in order to learn first hand how
farmers in Ontario were able to sell "off board" and not be
forced to participate in the Canadian Wheat Board "buy-back"
like Western Canadian farmers are obliged to do.
When a western farmer finds a market for barley of wheat in the USA he
must apply to the CWB for an export license. In order for the
license to be issued, he must first sell his grain to the CWB and then buy
it back at an inflated price. The "buy-back" effectively
removes any potential for realizing a profit from the transaction.
in order to apply for the export license, a farmer must disclose all
information that identifies the end-user to the CWB who can now approach
the customer with a discounted price. It would be like Canadian Tire
being forced to tell Wal-Mart who their customers are so Wal-Mart could
undercut the Canadian Tire price, while Wal-Mart can keep its pricing
information secret.
Because Mr. Gorski is an Ontario farmer, all he has to do is apply for
a CWB export permit which is granted without a "buy-back" being
imposed. Also, the cost for the export permit is waived.
Ken Dillen observed and documented the entire process which included
traveling with the trucks through the border crossing at Windsor, Ontario
to Detroit, Michigan and the delivery with a super B and tri-axle hopper
bottom to the Jiffy Pancake Flour Mill at Chelsea, Michigan.
Mr. Gorski was paid in full the next day. He received $3.85 US
per bushel (about $5.80 Cdn). The only slight draw back is that he
is required to pay the Ontario Wheat Board a minimal license fee of $2.00
per tonne. Even so, after all revenues and expenses are tallied, he
could receive a refund of a portion of the amount.
The export license is then faxed to Canada Customs. It is not
required to be "surrendered to the chief office of Customs" as
demanded by the Customs Act. This provision is only required at
border crossings in the three prairie provinces.
Ontario wheat farmers have a number of options available to them for
marketing their grain. They can either sell into the pool adn wait a
year for a final payment, contract with the Ontario Wheat Board at a fixed
price and be paid in full at the conclusion of a sale, or market
direct. The latter two options are not available to western farmers.
For exercising those same rights in Western Canada, farmers have been
jailed, taken to court, and have been placed in leg irons, hand-cuffs and
chains. Some are facing enormous fines including ascertained
forfeitures. Currently in Alberta, several farmers are refusing to
pay the fines and opting to be arrested and jailed as a form of
protest. They will be surrendering to police on the steps of the
Alberta Legislature to begin to serve their time.
In Ontario, farmers like Mr. Gorski pride themselves in the fact that
they "live in a free and democratic country" and will continue
to protect their right to sell their grain to whomever they choose,
including the Ontario Wheat Board. Shouldn't Prairie farmers be
given the same right?
Ken Dillen
September 2, 2002 |
