From what I can gather the Wheat Board Act isn't even scheduled under NAFTA. Its authority is maintained by the agreement's grandfathering clauses which makes fundamental changes to the CWB's mode of operations subject to scrutiny. Hugo Strahl is making barley purchase and sales by the Wheat Board in the open market an option for farmers but one of the strongest features of the Board is that its risk is explicitly underwritten by the Government of Canada via the Treasury Board.
Its only a matter of time before the CWB's operations being underwritten by the public purse is challenged in court and when it loses the CWB will be in the business of being in a fully competitive business which, as an arm of the government, it has no business doing. I see no way that the Board or the Government can win that challenge even if it wanted to. When oats was delisted the Board dropped it. I would expect the same to happen with barley, but that's not what our ruling FASCIST party is proposing. Anything to get their way in the long run, I suppose, but unless someone can show me how by any stretch of the imagination continuing operations under Part IV Section 53 of the Wheat Board Act would stand up to a NAFTA challenge once oats hits the open market I'd say its safe to assume Hugo Strahl's proposed venture into the world of FASCISM is ultimately a red herring whether he's aware of it or not.
If oats farmers want their independence from a single desk then fine, have at it. But don't expect to come nuzzling back to the public purse if and when the market weakens. To its credit, at least NAFTA won't allow it. Unless someone knows better. I'm all ears.
Its only a matter of time before the CWB's operations being underwritten by the public purse is challenged in court and when it loses the CWB will be in the business of being in a fully competitive business which, as an arm of the government, it has no business doing. I see no way that the Board or the Government can win that challenge even if it wanted to. When oats was delisted the Board dropped it. I would expect the same to happen with barley, but that's not what our ruling FASCIST party is proposing. Anything to get their way in the long run, I suppose, but unless someone can show me how by any stretch of the imagination continuing operations under Part IV Section 53 of the Wheat Board Act would stand up to a NAFTA challenge once oats hits the open market I'd say its safe to assume Hugo Strahl's proposed venture into the world of FASCISM is ultimately a red herring whether he's aware of it or not.
If oats farmers want their independence from a single desk then fine, have at it. But don't expect to come nuzzling back to the public purse if and when the market weakens. To its credit, at least NAFTA won't allow it. Unless someone knows better. I'm all ears.
