Manitoba Wants Barley Vote Cancelled

WINNIPEG - Mar 5/07 - SNS -- The Manitoba government wants Ottawa to halt its barley plebiscite to address mounting concerns over the confidentiality and integrity of the vote

Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk said, "The integrity of the federal barley plebiscite has been so compromised that any result will be effectively meaningless. Farmers deserve nothing less than a full, fair vote on the future of the Canadian Wheat Board that will yield a clear result."

The federal plebiscite has been awash with problems, not least of which is a three-part ballot question that will yield an unclear result and attempts to mislead farmers with the inclusion of the false option of a dual market, Wowchuk said.

The barley vote was further compromised when it was revealed last month that numbered ballots meant voter confidentiality could not be assured, the minister added.

Last week the accounting firm overseeing the federal barley vote publicly acknowledged that some farmers would receive multiple ballots and would be able to vote more than once.

"A secret ballot and the principle of one vote per person are the hallmarks of any fair, democratic voting process," Wowchuk said. "This federal barley plebiscite has proven to be anything but democratic and fair. Prairie farmers deserve better."