To the Editor:
I noted real concern (maybe even a glimpse of anger) on the face of Premier Wall last week as he talked to reporters about the foreign takeover of Viterra, and troubling reports about the past business behaviour of the proposed buyer, Swiss-based Glencore corporation.
This would be a $7-billion transaction to control Canada's biggest grain-handler and one of Saskatchewan's largest corporate citizens.
While Glencore would keep and run many of Viterra's current operations, it would also flip some of them to Pioneer Grain (Winnipeg) and to Agrium (Calgary). The involvement of Agrium and Pioneer is reassuring, but questions persist about Glencore.
When news of this transaction broke in March, I noted that Glencore was a hard-nosed international commodities trader, little known in Saskatchewan, but no stranger to controversy globally. Since then both Maclean's magazine and the BBC have issued further reports.
Questions swirl around the company's contentious founder who fled from US authorities in 1983. While he appears to be long-gone, Glencore remains engaged in aggressive, high-risk/high-reward operations in several developing countries and news reports allege dubious labour and environmental practices.
Mr. Wall said such conduct would not be acceptable in Saskatchewan. Both provincial and federal governments need to thoroughly examine whether this type of player is indeed a "net benefit" to Canada.
Governments also need to review whether Glencore's promise of a "North American headquarters" in Regina is substantive and enforceable, or merely symbolic. As well, what's the impact of this deal on competition in grain handling and the farm supply business.
The agreements between Viterra and Glencore no doubt stipulate heavy penalties if either side fails to conclude this deal. But it could still be ruled deficient or undesirable by regulatory authorities.
And that might leave room for new investors - for those who might want to build and sustain world-class Canadian agri-business leaders and champions.
Ralph Goodale, MP, Wascana, SK.
