Larry Hill, chair of the CWB’s farmer-controlled board of directors, released the following statement welcoming further review of the CWB’s risk management practices, following comments made by Gerry Ritz, the Minister responsible for the CWB, and Parliamentary Secretary David Anderson, questioning losses in the CWB’s 2007-08 Contingency Fund.
“The 2007-08 crop year was unlike any seen in the history of grain markets. Volatility was so extreme that on some days, the markets moved more in a few hours than they had in the previous year. During these unprecedented months, the CWB remained committed to offering farmers pricing and payment options, even when many other industry players withdrew their programs.
“Recognizing the need for rigorous practices in such a volatile environment, in February 2007, the board instructed management to undertake a comprehensive review of the risks associated with the Contingency Fund. This review resulted in changes to our risk management practices. The CWB then engaged Gibson Capital to conduct an external risk management and pricing review of the Producer Payment Options.
“Comments made by government MPs, however, suggest that we did not take appropriate measures. I would like to stress that we acted quickly and responsibly and kept Minister Ritz informed throughout this review process. However, in order to remove any shadow of doubt, today I wrote Minister Ritz and extended an invitation to him to review this process with his officials along with officials from the Department of Finance. I further suggested that in the spirit of ensuring the measures we have taken are consistent with corporate accountability best practices, we would also welcome a review of the process by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
“The CWB’s board of directors believes it is imperative that farmers have confidence in their grain marketing agency. We know the importance of direct accountability to all producers and commit to sharing the results of this further review process with farmers in the weeks and months ahead.”
