Since then it and the wheat pools in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been sold to Glencore of Switzerland that is now selling the Canadian business to Bunge.
I don’t think Bunge grain traders give a tinker’s damn whether they market Canadian grains or harvests from any other nation.
And if they can make a quick buck blending high-quality, higher-priced Canadian wheat, barley, canola, etc., with cheaper schlock from anywhere else, they no doubt will.
And there goes the Canadian reputation for the highest quality in the world.
Canola is the most recent crop under threat. Canadians developed and set the standard for canola free or erucic acid and thioglucocides.
It was possible because the Canadian government could and did ban rapeseed and its derivatives that failed to meet the double=zero standard from being grown and exported as canola. The Canadian Wheat Board and the farmer-owned pools were integral to that system.
But how long do you suppose that standard will last when Bunge and others begin growing massive volumes of canola in the United States to take advantage of the government-mandated market for biodiesel?]
And if Canadian canola should lose its high standard and integrity, will global markets be lost?
What would Bunge care?
Canada’s plant breeders used to be motivated to generate better varieties to retain and enhance Canada’s global reputation.
Not Bunge.
Ritz and his supporters touted the advantages of having fewer restrictions on farmers and the grain traders, but ignored the benefits those restrictions delivered.
The so-called freedoms farmers gained are now being narrowed because of the dominant position of Bunge.
A couple of years ago, an astute observer and analyst wrote that Canadian crown corporations were global leaders in things such as vaccine research and development, electricity generation and distribution, aerospace and aircraft innovation and railways.
His analysis concluded that they were run as well or better than private corporations. The Canadians were talented and public-spirited leaders.
That could certainly be said of the Canadian Wheat Board and its partners.
But guess it’s a Canadian tradition, stretching back to Indigenous peoples: give up what you own to those who don’t care about your heritage and values if they can make a quick buck.
