WINNIPEG — Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has told the president of the Canadian Wheat Board his job is on the line.

In a faxed letter, Strahl tells Adrian Measner he's thinking about making a recommendation to cabinet that his appointment as president be terminated. Strahl gives no reason for his position, and concludes the two-sentence letter by asking Measner to make any comments to him by Dec. 14.

Board chairman Ken Ritter says the letter amounts to two weeks' notice and mirrors the language used in a letter recently sent to former Saskatchewan director Ross Keith before he was fired.

Measner has recently spoken out in defence of the board's marketing monopoly and warned of the economic consequences for the board, the City of Winnipeg and province of Manitoba if the government allows competition.

The federal government plans to remove the monopoly on barley next year, followed by wheat.