Open Letter to Ken Ritter
January 27, 2004
Mr. Ken Ritter
Chairman of the Board
Canadian Wheat Board
423 Main Street
Winnipeg, MB
R3C 2P5
Dear Mr. Ritter:
In your response to my letter asking what actions the board of
directors was going to take to hold management accountable for the
2002-03 marketing failure by the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), your
answer was very clear - none.
As the board of directors sees no reason to hold staff accountable, it
is clear that the board members themselves are accepting
responsibility for the loss of $500 million in value to farmers and
for the $85.4 million
deficit which Canadian taxpayers must now make up.
Your letter cited the unexpected rise in value of the Canadian dollar
as one reason that the CWB marketing plan failed. It is common
knowledge that when conducting business outside the country, the risk
of a change in value
of currency is protected by a process called hedging. Failure to hedge
the currency, as other international players do, is either speculating
at the expense of farmers or gross negligence. Please advise why
currency was
not hedged to protect western Canadian farmers in the international
market place.
Your letter further cites the unexpected activity of "minor
exporters" as another factor contributing to the loss farmers are
facing for CWB wheat sales in 2002-03. If this is correct, what did
the board of directors do
with the market intelligence and world crop surveillance information
that is gathered for the purpose of giving Canadian farmers an
advantage when selling in the world market?
Your letter outlined the actions the board of directors will be taking
to ensure a similar marketing failure does not occur again, but it did
not address the core issues. The biggest problem leading to the
2002-03 marketing failure is staff complacency fueled by lack of
accountability and lack of competition for farmers' business. Will the
board of directors initiate an action plan that will address the
causes of staff complacency within the CWB?
Since the board of directors, by way of your letter, has acknowledged
they are responsible for the 2002-03 marketing failure, and since the
marketing effort of the single desk produced results which are
significantly less
than the potential available, is the board now willing to allow
western Canadian farmers the same choices in grain marketing as are
available to farmers in eastern Canada?
Albert J. Wagner
Past President,
Western Barley Growers Association
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