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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 209

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 209 - Jun/8/23
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Jun/8/23 10:28:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to drill down on something that is a widespread assumption without evidence, which is that the private sector is more efficient. I have been tracking what happened to my riding with the backup of freighters, as many as 27 at a time, all up the coast of Vancouver Island, all the way up to Ladysmith and Gabriola. It is very inefficient. Everyone loses. The grain shippers lose. The grain farmers lose, and people in my community lose. It did not use to be so bad. Members would never guess the law of unintended consequences at work here. What was the thing that changed, that made the shipment of grain so very inefficient? It was getting rid of the Canada Wheat Board. We did not know, at the time we were debating getting rid of the Canada Wheat Board, that one of the consequences would be that shipping grain would become a gong show. The Wheat Board used to organize the shipment of grains. Multiple farmers used to have the rails ready to go, and the grain was shipped more efficiently. Now we have a privatized system, and what is left of the Wheat Board is owned by Saudi Arabia.
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