Leading agricultural publication publicizes Agriculture Union campaign to stop CGC cuts

(Posted January 23, 2008)

The ‘Western Producer’, the most authoritative and widely-read publication among Canada’s faming and agricultural community has highlighted the Agriculture Union’s determination to fight recently-announced cuts to the Canadian Grain Commission.

The full text of the article, which appeared in the January 3 issue, is reproduced below:

CGC union vows to fight reforms

By Barry Wilson
Ottawa bureau

          The president of the union that represents most Canadian Grain Commission employees says he will wage a political war to try to stop amendments to the Canada Grain Act that could wipe out 30 percent of CGC jobs.
          “We are going to have a big political game over this, working with the opposition to change this legislation and hopefully defeat the government,” said Yves Ducharme, president of the Agriculture Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
          “Of the 200 jobs that could be lost, I think PSAC represents 90 percent of them."
           The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada represents the remainder and an official from it said the union plans to play an active role when the implications of the proposed legislation are clear.
           The CGC workforce would be depleted if Parliament approves a Conservative proposal that would end the need for weighing and grading of grain being moved from inland elevators to export or transfer terminals.
Ducharme said that would be the biggest effect and it caught the union by surprise.
          “We knew there would be changes but nothing as drastic as this,” he said. “And the timing is pretty sad, coming just before Christmas.”
           The union leader said PSAC will continue to analyze the implications of the legislation and then develop a plan to fight it.
          “It is a bit early yet to know exactly the implications or how we can fight it but we will have an action plan early in the new year,” he said. “We will fight this and hopefully the government will fall before this becomes law. If not, we will fight to have this changed.”
           Ducharme said it was another attack by the Conservatives on a public institution that has served Canadians, and in this case farmers, well.
          “We see all these ideologues being put in place and institutions that have served Canadians for a century being undermined,” he said from his Ottawa office. “This is a very political, ideological thing whether it is selling public buildings, attacking the Canadian Wheat Board or gutting the grain commission.”
           As a representative of thousands of Agriculture Canada employees, PSAC also has opposed the government decision to sell the new departmental head office in Ottawa, purchased several years ago and subject to tens of millions of dollars of upgrades before it was sold this year to a Vancouver real estate company that will lease it back to the government.
           PSAC has said it is a gift to a private sector friend of the Conservatives.
           Ducharme said the union hopes that the minority Conservative government is defeated in Parliament and an election is called before the bill can proceed.
          “Then, I hope a different government is elected,” he said. “But in any event, we will be having a big political game to convince the opposition to change or kill this bill even if there isn't an election.”

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National President writes MPs, Senators urging opposition to Bill C-39 and its attack on the CGC

(Posted January 21, 2008)

What follows is the text of the letter sent by National President Yves Ducharme to all Members of Parliament and Senators urging opposition to Bill C-39 and its attack on the Canadian Grain Commission:

 

Dear (Name of MP or Senator):

Re: Bill C-39, An Act to Amend the Canada Grain Act

          I am taking this opportunity to raise our strong concerns over Bill C-39, which was tabled in the House of Commons by the government last December 13.  This proposed legislation would seriously undermine the historical role, current responsibilities and future viability of the Canadian Grain Commission.

          As you are aware, the CGC, headquartered in Winnipeg, is a federal government agency operating under the authority of the Canada Grain Act.  The Commission is both a regulator and a service provider.  As a regulator, it licenses most of the private sector dealers, and specifies grain and grain grading standards.  As a service provider, the CGC supplies unbiased commodity inspection and an impartial dispute resolution service when producers and buyers disagree on grades.

          If passed into law, Bill C-39 would cost some 200 Commission employees – mostly frontline service providers – their jobs. Indeed, it would put an end to the CGC as an impartial guarantor of the integrity of Canadian’s grain trade.

          I believe that we can speak with some authority on this matter.  The Agriculture Union, a component union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, represents most Canadian Grain Commission employees. These dedicated workers:

     • establish grain grades and standards;
     • regulate the handling, transportation and storage of grain in Canada;
     • provide producer protection services;
     • undertake and sponsor research in grain and grain products; and
     • maintain and publish statistics on grain handling, storage and movement.

          The CGC was created due to long-standing grievances of farmers that they were being consistently disadvantaged by the powerful grain trade companies that bought their wheat and barley crops. T oday, the largest traders are multinational corporations that are even more dominant in the industry.  Far from an outmoded institution, the Commission’s current roles and activities are as relevant today as they were a century ago.

          Thanks to the tough regulations enforced by the CGC over the years, domestic and foreign purchasers have come to count on the consistency and high quality of Canadian grains.  It is no exaggeration to say that the Commission deserves much of the credit for the success and prosperity enjoyed by all players in the Canadian grain industry.

          I have taken the liberty of enclosing a document, entitled Why Bill C-39 is Bad Legislation, which outlines the principal objections to this proposed legislation.  The bottom line is that most farmers don’t want it. And, at a time when the public is more and more legitimately concerned with the quality and safety of foodstuffs, consumers stand to lose.

           Bill C-39 would benefit the powerful private interests that control the grain industry, and a minority of farmers opposed to ‘government regulation’ who wish to sell privately into current high-priced commodity markets.

          All Members of Parliament and Senators – urban or rural, from the east or west – have a personal, non-partisan interest in the fate of Bill C-39. Regardless of party or constituency, I urge you to oppose Bill C-39.

          In the meantime, given the major issues and concerns inherent in this proposed legislation, we would be more than willing to meet personally with you or your staff to discuss our concerns in greater detail.

          On behalf of the employees of the Canadian Grain Commission, I want to thank you for taking the time to consider the ramifications of. Bill C-39.

                                                                                        Yours sincerely,

                                                                                         Yves Ducharme
                                                                                         National President

                                                                                         Agriculture Union

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National President Yves Ducharme has already written personal letters to every Member of Parliament and Senator, asking them to ensure that C-39 never becomes law.  (Brother Ducharme’s letter can be seen in a separate article on this page.) Under the campaign slogan ‘Bill C-39 Goes Against the Grain’, Agriculture Union Local activists will also be talking our message to Members of Parliament where they are most politically vulnerable – in their home constituencies. To aid their efforts, the National Office has prepared a comprehensive ‘lobbying kit’ that provides all the guidance and information needed to forcibly make our case to MPs of all political parties.

André was a great union man, both literally and figuratively.  He was a tireless worker for the members of our union, a decades-long involvement that continued into his retirement. A longtime Agriculture Union activist, André was elected president of Local 10080 in St-Hyacinthe in the early 1980s before serving for a number of years as Regional Vice-President for our Western Quebec Region members.  Along the way, he mentored innumerable up-and-coming activists, including our current National President, Yves Ducharme. Fiercely committed to social justice, André was a constant presence in all major campaigns and activities in Quebec of our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Our December ‘Rand’ campaign winner is…

(Posted January 8, 2008)

Congratulations to Amber Spence!   Amber is the final monthly winner in our year-long campaign to sign up ‘Rands’, dues-paying co-workers who, for one reason or another, have yet to sign a union card.

Amber is a newly-signed-up member of Local 67, which represents our Canadian Food Inspection Agency members in Nepean, Ontario.

Her name also joins those of all Rands who signed membership cards by year’s-end in becoming eligible for our year-end grand prize – two round-trip tickets to anywhere in Canada that Air Canada flies, or $1,000 in cash.

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Rick, a bilingual Acadian, lives in Dieppe, New Brunswick, a suburb of Moncton. Formerly Alternate RVP, he moves up to his new position January 1 on the retirement of his predecessor, Allan MacRae. A multi-program specialist inspector with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Rick has worked for the federal government since 1988. His active involvement in the Agriculture Union started in 1992, when he was elected a Steward in Local 5. He went on to serve as Chief Shop Steward, Vice-President and, for the last seven years, President.

Allan is best known for having served as the Regional Vice-President for our members in the Western Atlantic Region for the past decade.  What you most likely don’t know is that he began his active involvement with the Agriculture Union 31 years ago! Allan is a Soil Management Technician at PEI’s Crop and Livestock Research Station.  He is indeed a true ‘son of the soil’, having actually grown up on the Station thanks to his father, who was foreman at the Upton Experimental Farm.  The two MacRae men share a truly amazing 75 years’ service with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.