No candidate will sail through unopposed in any of the five districts up for contention in this fall’s Canadian Wheat Board director elections.
Seeing “strong interest from prospective candidates,” the CWB’s election co-ordinator, Ian Craven of Meyers Norris Penny, on Friday confirmed at least two candidates are up for election in each of Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, with four candidates seeking the District 3 seat alone.
Nominations closed at 6 p.m. Friday, Winnipeg time.
This year’s candidates for the CWB’s farmer-director seats are:
District 1 (northwestern and northern Alberta, northeastern B.C.):
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- Dan Gauthier of Donnelly, Alta., a two-term member of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, through which he sat on the boards of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canola Council of Canada, and the Western Canadian Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee. “We need to keep our collective power in an industry that is becoming more and more concentrated,” Gauthier wrote in his profile.
- Henry Vos of Fairview, Alta., the incumbent since 2006, a founding director of Canterra Seeds and formerly president of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Seed Growers Association, a public governor of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange and director and president of the Alberta Canola Producers Association. “As an organization (the CWB) must continue to change to reflect the needs of today’s farmers,” he said.
District 3 (southern Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan):
- Lynn Jacobson of Enchant, Alta., a former delegate to Alberta Pool and Agricore, board member and current chairman with the Alberta Soft Wheat Producers Commission, and board member and current first vice-president of Wild Rose Agriculture Producers. “Without the presence of the CWB, the premiums associated with (its activities in transportation, market development and market access) would go to grain companies and not producers,” he wrote.
- Brett Meinert of Shuanavon, Sask., founding chairman of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association and the former Saskatchewan Mustard Growers Association, former chairman of the Inland Terminal Association of Canada and current vice-chairman of South West Terminal. “For powerful economic reasons the single-desk selling function of the (CWB) serves Canadian farmers well, which is why I support the board,” he wrote.
- Brian Otto of Warner, Alta., a former vice-chair of the Alberta Barley Commission, founding member of the Alberta Winter Wheat Association and Alberta Safflower Growers Association and current president of the Western Barley Growers Association. “Farmers want higher farm gate prices for their wheat and barley and I want to build a CWB that consistently demonstrates that it is getting them the best possible returns year after year,” he wrote.
- Stewart Wells of Swift Current, Sask., a former delegate to Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, former advisor to the board of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute and former president of the National Farmers Union. “Steps need to be taken in order to stabilize the operations of the CWB and protect the CWB from political interference. The CWB is an effective marketer — and should not be used as a political football,” he wrote.
District 5 (northeastern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan):
- Vicki Dutton of Paynton, Sask., director of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association, a founding committee member for the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and a member of the Canadian Grain Commission’s Western Grain Standards Committee. The CWB, she wrote, “requires leaders who are… not afraid to embrace new ways of doing business (and) have the determination and confidence to succeed in a competitive environment.”
- Allen Oberg of Forestburg, Alta., the incumbent since 2002 and CWB chairman since June, a former director of Alberta Pool and former chairman of the Western Grain Research Foundation. “With control of 20 million tonnes of grain in the world market, the CWB has the clout to take on the grain and rail companies when farmers’ rights are being threatened,” he wrote, adding he is “convinced that the single desk is fundamental to a strong and viable CWB.”
District 7 (east-central Saskatchewan):
- Kyle Korneychuk of Pelly, Sask., the incumbent since 2006, a former director with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the Borage Growers Group, member of the Hudson Bay Route Association and “advocate” for the Farmer Rail Car Coalition. “Choice is not the issue but rather a red herring,” he wrote. “If competition provides real opportunities why are all of the other players in the industry consolidating?”
- Terry Youzwa of Nipawin, Sask., a former director of UGG and Agricore United, current director with the Canola Council of Canada and SaskCanola and a past member of federal and provincial safety net advisory committees. ” I hear farmers in District 7 saying they need flexibility to manage their deliveries and pricing so they can manage their businesses better,” he said. “I will support change that provides more flexibility to farmers.”
District 9 (western and northern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan):
- Garry Draper of Lenore, Man., chairman of the Fort la Bosse School Division and a former president of the Manitoba Association of School Boards. The CWB’s future, he wrote, “rests in the fact that it must retain its single-desk selling authority for all producers to fully benefit from the domestic and world markets… Single-desk boards that have been lost, in countries around the world, gave companies the full benefit from the markets, and not the farmers.”
- John Sandborn of Benito, Man., a former director with Manitoba Pool Elevators and Agricore, a director with Federated Co-operatives and a founding director of the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation. “The CWB is the only organization that markets grain on behalf of farmers rather than company shareholders,” he wrote, adding he supports the board’s continued advocacy on transportation, trade, research, producer car access and the use of the Port of Churchill.
- Ernie Sirski of Dauphin, Man., a former director with UGG and Agricore United, a former finance committee chair with the Canola Council of Canada and a past president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. Farmers say they want more flexibility and options to manage their business, he wrote, and “they want improved delivery and pricing options for marketing their wheat and barley. Changes that meet the business needs of farmers must be a priority for the CWB.”
Voting packages are to be mailed out to eligible voters starting Tuesday, Oct. 26. Packages will include voting instructions, candidates’ biographies and policy statements, a preferential ballot and an official postage-paid return envelope.
Eligible farmers who aren’t yet on the voters’ list, and those who need replacement ballots, must have their applications for ballots in by midnight Winnipeg time, Nov. 19.
Farmers’ completed preferential ballots must be postmarked on or before midnight Winnipeg time on Dec. 3 to be counted. Ballots will be counted and results announced (barring any need for a recount) the weekend of Dec. 11-12.
