Details on this event:

September 30, 2011
Delta Winnipeg Hotel

Conference Agenda 

WESTAC/UMTI Report

The federal government has announced that it will introduce legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB’s) monopoly on the purchase from producers of wheat and barley for export and domestic human consumption, and thereby provide marketing choice for farmers.  Although there is a range of options as to how this move may be accomplished, it is apparent that ending the CWB’s monopoly will have far reaching effects on the grain handling and transportation system, as well as on regional and provincial economies. 

While the details for this change have yet to be determined, some parameters do seem to be clear:

• The grain companies will be empowered to buy directly from farmers and to make sales of wheat and barley to markets formerly reserved to the CWB.
• The CWB’s regulatory role over transportation will, at a minimum, be curtailed. Not owning facilities, the CWB will have to contract for handling and transportation services. This will alter the contractual regime among the grain companies, the railways, grain producers and the CWB.

The objective of this conference is to identify the issues that will have to be addressed by the CWB, governments and commercial grain industry participants.

2011 Conference Presentations (in order of appearance)  Note - audio presentations for those speakers who did not have Power Point presentations will be available shortly.

• Mr. Greg Meredith, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Agriculture & Agri-food Canada  (audio only)

• Dr. Paul Earl, Senior Scholar, I.H. Asper School of Business

• Mr. Bill Cooper, Saskatchewan Farmer

• Mr. Don Dewar, Manitoba Farmer  (audio only)

• Mr. Mark Hemmes, President, Quorum Corporation

• Mr. Brian Hayward, President, Aldare Resources

• Mr. John De Pape, President, John De Pape Ltd.  (audio only)

• Hon. Otto Lang, P.C., O.C., Q.C., former Minister responsible for the CWB & former Minister of Transport  (audio only)

• Mr. Jean-Marc Ruest, VP, Corporate Affairs & General Counsel, Richardson International Ltd.

• Mr. Ray Foot, Group VP of Sales, Canadian Pacific Railway

• Mr. Brad Chase, President, OmniTRAX Canada Inc.

• Mr. Scott Galloway, Director of Trade Development, Port Metro Vancouver

• Mr. Tim Heney, CEO, Thunder Bay Port Authority

• Mr. Owen McAuley, Producer & Vice Chair, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (Rapporteur)   (audio only)

Thank you to our conference sponsors!!

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