For immediate release,
May 6, 2011
Canadian Wheat Board: Rethink the $8-billion giveaway
SASKATOON -- “Canada must protect this strategic resource called food," Roy Atkinson, CM retired executive director of the National Farmers Union says. He says Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] and other corporations are poised to capture the most lucrative of Canadian Wheat Board revenue streams if the federal government proceeds with its plan.
At $8 billion in sales a year the CWB is one of Canada's biggest corporations. Its foreign earnings contribute significantly to Canada's balance of trade. It is the largest marketer of wheat and barley in the world.
"The way the deal is proposed farmers lose. Canada loses immense international power and influence,” Atkinson says. He says the deal has major implications for farmers in Ontario and Quebec.
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Roy Atkinson, CM,
retired Executive Director
National Farmers Union
royatk@sasktel.net