Globe and Mail WINNIPEG Canadian Press
The Canadian Wheat Board is handing out $1,000 Christmas bonuses to employees in recognition of the "stress" they have been under during the Winnipeg-based agency's fight with the federal government. The special payout to the 500 employees was announced by board chairman Ken Ritter and newly minted president Greg Arason. Mr. Arason was appointed to the position Tuesday after Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl fired former CEO Adrian Measner over his support for the board's marketing monopoly. The Winnipeg Free Press reported the bonus is raising concern among farmers. And some employees say they wonder if the bonus is "hush money" to silence them in the pitched political battle over the future of the board. "The whole thing was really quite surreal," one employee said of the announcement made in the cafeteria of the Wheat Board's Winnipeg office. "One moment we are locked in a battle with the government, and 24 hours after our very popular president [Adrian Measner] is fired, we are told we are getting $1,000 bonuses. "Is this hush money? Am I supposed to abide by a new president's rules, which are contrary to what this company has always been about?" The payout was authorized by the CWB's directors during their first meeting with Mr. Arason. It had the blessing of directors who have been advocating for the retention of its marketing monopoly. "We have had a tremendous strain on our staff, as it is had to work in an organization that has been on the front pages of newspapers," said Ian McCreary, a director from Saskatchewan. "It is a token of the board and farmers' appreciation for working in an environment that has been attacked by the Government of Canada." Bill Toews, a director from Manitoba, said the optics of the bonus and how farmers might view it were all factored into the board's decision. "The rationale was the staff have undergone a lot of stress and worked under very difficult conditions that have been imposed on them by what Mr. Strahl has done," Mr. Toews said. "If farmers are concerned about what we did [authorizing the bonuses], they will have to place that responsibility on Mr. Strahl, not the board." While any number of private and public-sector companies provide Christmas bonuses for employees, that has not been the tradition previously at the Wheat Board. The payouts come as Mr. Arason is running up against a board controlled by directors opposed to the Conservative promise to move to open marketing of wheat and barley. Mike Bast, chairman of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, which backs the Tory vision for the board, was shocked by the bonuses. "I think farmers would find this very upsetting right now," Mr. Bast said. "If you are going to pay the employees a $1,000 bonus, why aren't farmers paid a $1,000 Christmas bonus cheque as well?" Mr. Strahl's office wouldn't comment directly on the bonuses. But Conrad Bellehumeur, Mr. Strahl's director of communications, rejected any claim that the government has been the source of stress and strain at the Wheat Board. "The reasons they [the Wheat Board] have been on the front page of the papers is that they have decided to involve themselves in the politics of wheat instead of focusing on the mandate, which is to market wheat," he said. A board employee who asked not to be named said he wouldn't be surprised if some staff refused to accept the Christmas bonus. "The optics are just atrocious for us," he said. "What are farmers going to think of this? Because at the end of the day, it is their money."
The Canadian Wheat Board is handing out $1,000 Christmas bonuses to employees in recognition of the "stress" they have been under during the Winnipeg-based agency's fight with the federal government. The special payout to the 500 employees was announced by board chairman Ken Ritter and newly minted president Greg Arason. Mr. Arason was appointed to the position Tuesday after Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl fired former CEO Adrian Measner over his support for the board's marketing monopoly. The Winnipeg Free Press reported the bonus is raising concern among farmers. And some employees say they wonder if the bonus is "hush money" to silence them in the pitched political battle over the future of the board. "The whole thing was really quite surreal," one employee said of the announcement made in the cafeteria of the Wheat Board's Winnipeg office. "One moment we are locked in a battle with the government, and 24 hours after our very popular president [Adrian Measner] is fired, we are told we are getting $1,000 bonuses. "Is this hush money? Am I supposed to abide by a new president's rules, which are contrary to what this company has always been about?" The payout was authorized by the CWB's directors during their first meeting with Mr. Arason. It had the blessing of directors who have been advocating for the retention of its marketing monopoly. "We have had a tremendous strain on our staff, as it is had to work in an organization that has been on the front pages of newspapers," said Ian McCreary, a director from Saskatchewan. "It is a token of the board and farmers' appreciation for working in an environment that has been attacked by the Government of Canada." Bill Toews, a director from Manitoba, said the optics of the bonus and how farmers might view it were all factored into the board's decision. "The rationale was the staff have undergone a lot of stress and worked under very difficult conditions that have been imposed on them by what Mr. Strahl has done," Mr. Toews said. "If farmers are concerned about what we did [authorizing the bonuses], they will have to place that responsibility on Mr. Strahl, not the board." While any number of private and public-sector companies provide Christmas bonuses for employees, that has not been the tradition previously at the Wheat Board. The payouts come as Mr. Arason is running up against a board controlled by directors opposed to the Conservative promise to move to open marketing of wheat and barley. Mike Bast, chairman of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, which backs the Tory vision for the board, was shocked by the bonuses. "I think farmers would find this very upsetting right now," Mr. Bast said. "If you are going to pay the employees a $1,000 bonus, why aren't farmers paid a $1,000 Christmas bonus cheque as well?" Mr. Strahl's office wouldn't comment directly on the bonuses. But Conrad Bellehumeur, Mr. Strahl's director of communications, rejected any claim that the government has been the source of stress and strain at the Wheat Board. "The reasons they [the Wheat Board] have been on the front page of the papers is that they have decided to involve themselves in the politics of wheat instead of focusing on the mandate, which is to market wheat," he said. A board employee who asked not to be named said he wouldn't be surprised if some staff refused to accept the Christmas bonus. "The optics are just atrocious for us," he said. "What are farmers going to think of this? Because at the end of the day, it is their money."
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