International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said Thursday he won't agree to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board as part of trade liberalization negotiations.
"We are prepared to subject our Canadian Wheat Board to all sorts of disciplines to ensure that it isn't trade distorting, but the institution itself is not on the table," Peterson told The Associated Press in an interview.
The issue of marketing boards in countries like Canada and Australia have been regularly raised by countries working on a trade liberalization treaty at the Geneva-based World Trade Organization.
European Union Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler said earlier this week that the 25-country bloc was prepared to consider scrapping all export subsidies on agricultural goods, but only if other developed countries take similar action.
He pointed to Canada's wheat board as an example of a monopolistic marketing practice that represents government support to producers.Calgary Herald:
