The Business Council of Manitoba says the end of the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk creates a number of opportunities for Manitoba.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz intends on introducing legislation this fall that will remove the CWB of its single desk selling authority for the 2012-13 crop year.

The Business Council has published a policy paper that says the blow to business in downtown Winnipeg will be less severe than some have been predicting.

"We won't know the impact until the legislation passes and the Wheat Board determines how it wants to re-constitute itself," says president and CEO Jim Carr. "But we think there is no benefit in trying to reverse the government's decision. It has made its decision and is determined to proceed."

"The Business Council believes that what we ought to be doing now is best positioning Manitoba in the new reality of the deregulated situation," he says.

Carr says they expect many jobs could be maintained at the CWB, while other companies will enter the Canadian grain market and set up offices in Winnipeg.

"There will be companies who don't have a presence here yet who will be looking at opportunities that will be a consequence of the wheat board's monopoly being broken. There will be competition for the grain grown by Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta farmers, and it will likely inspire interest among international grain companies to see what kind of opportunities exist for them here," he says.

He points out there's an opportunity to build on the grain research work already being done at the Canadian International Grains Institute in downtown Winnipeg.

"We think this is the moment to put some funds together to establish Manitoba as a major agricultural research centre, likely at the University of Manitoba. We know that the Canadian International Grains Institute has been funded by the wheat board and the government, and we think that should be continued," he says. "We think that Manitoba is a logical place to become the centre of important national and international agricultural research."

Carr adds Winnipeg could also be home to a new wheat commodity group, similar to the Canola Council of Canada.

He's optimistic that Winnipeg can build on its deep history in the grain industry.

"We have a critical mass, a cluster here already of very significant enterprise," he explains. "There is no evidence whatsoever that the leadership within those companies has any intent at all of moving operations outside of Manitoba. We're hopeful quite the contrary will happen. We have a rich history in the grain trade and there's every reason to be hopeful that we'll have a rich future."

The Council is also examining the impact the CWB changes could have on the Port of Churchill.

"It is a problem, and it will impact the port in a major way. The future of the port is very much up in the air, and that's why we believe the governments of Canada and Manitoba have to declare the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay railroad as critical infrastructure," he says. "We see Churchill as more than a port for grain, but as the Arctic gateway."

~ Wednesday, July 27, 2011 ~