Monday’s passing of Bill C-18, to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly, will “hollow out” Winnipeg’s downtown, said Winnipeg Centre MP Pat Martin.

“Not only will there be an impact in the rural prairies, but there will be a huge impact in the heart of corporate Winnipeg.”

Martin said he forsees at least 500 people losing their jobs in Winnipeg and thousands more in both the rural and urban centres of Manitoba. He also estimates $95 million a year in economic benefits will be lost.

CWB director John Sandborn said while employees at the CWB are all professional, they’re disappointed. “They’re dedicated and they’ve done an excellent job for farmers.”

Both Martin and Sandborn noted with the control of the CWB gone, big corporations will gain control of prime Canadian grain ‘ from the seed in the ground, to what ends up on our tables, and potentially degrading its value in the world market.

“People don’t realize how profound it is and now we have to put a strategy in place to diversify (Winnipeg’s) economy,” said Martin.

Martin added with the loss of the single-desk system, large international corporations, such as Denver-based Cargill, are more likely to leave Winnipeg. “They don’t need to be here anymore … Now they can run their operations through their head offices,” he said.

However, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it’s time for the CWB to compete.

“It’s time for the wheat board to go out in a dual marketing environment, to cultivate its customers and provide a competitive service because those customers are going to have choice in the future,” he said last month.