It may have been a tumultuous year at the Canadian Wheat Board, but it ended on a happy note for employees — $1,000 Christmas bonuses.

In an interview, board chair Ken Ritter said directors feel the bonuses are a reflection of how turbulent this year has been for employees. It's the first time they've received Christmas bonuses.

"We felt that they had maintained their productivity," Ritter said. "We also were of the view that a motivated staff is very important for a business and so we wanted to show our appreciation."

The special payout was announced Thursday morning by Ritter and new CEO and president Greg Arason. Arason was appointed Tuesday by Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl after Strahl fired former president Adrian Measner.

The federal Conservatives want to end the wheat board's monopoly on Prairie grain and wheat marketing, a move some say would cripple the Winnipeg-based agency.

Some farmers say they want the right to market their own wheat and barley, but others say they get the best prices already from the wheat board. Some believe ending the monopoly will kill the board.

Critics call it 'hush money'

Ritter said he was disturbed to hear that some critics believe the bonuses are "hush money" and an attempt to buy the silence of employees on the debate over the future of the board.

That was never the intent, he said.

The bonuses were the talk of farm country Friday, according to one Saskatchewan farmer.

Gordon Wilson said he went to visit his local equipment dealer in Kindersley, Sask., Friday morning, and there were 20 other farmers there —all talking about the Christmas bonuses.

"If the employees deserve a bonus, they should get it, but at Christmas when the federal government and the Canadian Wheat Board are having a fight, I'm not sure if the logisitics of that seems right to me," Wilson said.

According to the board's website, the agency has 493 positions.
Most work at the CWB's head office in Winnipeg, while others work in offices in Vancouver, Tokyo, Beijing and in district offices across the Prairies.