National | Action

ACTION ALERT: Contact your Member of Parliament and tell them “NO” to the Bunge-Viterra Merger

The National Farmers Union is firmly opposed to the proposed merger of Bunge and Viterra. Read the NFU’s Op-Ed on why we are opposed to this merger here and our op ed about why governments need to take a different approach to merger reviews here. A merger between Bunge and Viterra would be disastrous for grain farmers in Canada, resulting in losses of millions of dollars for prairie grain farmers through loss in competition. A merger would mean even less choice for farmers in a market that is already monopolized by a few large grain companies and would lead to lower grain prices, less money in farmers’ pockets and less money for the Canadian economy.

Contact your MP, The Minister of Justice, the Minister of Transportation, and the Minister of Agriculture and tell them “NO” to this merger that would make these grain handling giants even more powerful! See the NFU website for more details and points to include in your phone calls and emails.

How to Find your Member of Parliament:

  1. Go to https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
  2. In the search section at the top of the page enter your constituency, postal code, or the name of your MP if you know it. 
  3. Click on the resulting MP that comes up in the search. This will take you to the MPs page.
  4. On this page select the tab that says “contact”. You will find their email address. You will also find their phone numbers and mailing addresses for their parliamentary and constituency offices.

Send a copy of your message to: 

  1. Your Member of Parliament
  2. Minister of Justice (supervises Competition Bureau): Arif Virani – mcu@justice.gc.ca
  3. Minister of Transportation: Anita Anand – tc.ministeroftransport-ministredestransports.tc@tc.gc.ca or Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca
  4. Minister of Agriculture: Lawrence MacAulay – aafc.minister-ministre.aac@agr.gc.ca
  5. Leader of the NDP: Jagmeet Singh – jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca
  6. Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada: Pierre Poilievere – pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca
  7. Leader of the Bloc-Québécois: Yves-François Blanchet – yves-francois.blanchet@parl.gc.ca
  8. Leader of the Green Party: Elizabeth May – elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca

Some topics to include in your email or phone call:

  • The proposed merger between Bunge and Viterra must not be allowed to happen. Tell your MP to pressure cabinet ministers to say “NO” to the merger.
  • A merger between Bunge and Viterra would be disastrous for grain farmers in Canada.
  • The Minister of Transportation will have recommended what course of action should be taken – whether to approve the merger, approve the merger with conditions, or to deny the merger. No matter what the recommendation from the Minister of Transportation was, the cabinet must vote “NO” to this merger.
  • Mention that the Canadian Competition Bureau study on the Bunge-Viterra merger reported that significant harm would be inflicted upon farmers if this merger was approved. The study showed that there would be significant loss of farmer revenue due to the resulting market power that Bunge would be able to wield with the acquisition of Viterra. 
  • The Competition Bureau’s report and corporate structure analysis demonstrated that Bunge’s 25% stake in G3, which is a competitor to Viterra, gives it significant insight into G3’s operations, further compromising competition in Canada’s grain handling system.
  • A study commissioned by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) demonstrated that prairie grain farmers would stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars every year if this merger were to be approved.
  • The APAS study also showed that grain farmers in the prairies already have very little choice for where they can deliver their grain, and the merger would create areas where farmers’ would only have one option.