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January 16, 2007 MANITOBA FARMERS SEND STRONG MESSAGE ON CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD SINGLE DESK– – –Sixty-five Per Cent of Eligible Voters Participate In Manitoba's Provincial Vote: Wowchuk Manitoba wheat and barley producers have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Canadian Wheat Board single desk marketing system, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives minister Rosann Wowchuk said today.
Independent accounting firm Meyers Norris Penny today released the final results of the provincially- administered vote on the wheat board’s single desk. Wheat and barley producers voted 61.8 per cent in favour of retaining the single desk for barley, while 69.5 per cent voted in favour of retaining the single desk for wheat. Sixty-five per cent of eligible voters participated.
“Federal minister Chuck Strahl and Prime Minister Stephen Harper continue to be ideological dictators on this issue,” said Wowchuk. “They continue to systematically dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board single desk without listening to farmers, something they’re required to do under federal legislation.”
The Manitoba government held a provincial mail-in vote on the wheat board on Dec. 6, asking farmers to voice their marketing preferences for both wheat and barley. The question used in the vote was the exact question recommended by farm organizations.
“The federal government refuses to listen to farmers on both barley and wheat,” said Wowchuk. “Our government has given farmers a voice on both wheat and barley, and today farmers have sent the federal government a strong message on their marketing preferences.”
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