Controversial case to be heard!
Battle Heats Up Over Barley Monopoly
Canadian Wheat Board Takes Ottawa to Court This Week over Conservatives' Move To Open Up Market
By Joe Friesen
The Globe And Mail
Monday, July 23, 2007
Page A6
The Canadian Wheat Board is taking the government to court this week in a last-ditch attempt to preserve its monopoly on barley sales.
The Board's lawyers will argue at a sitting of the Federal Court Wednesday in Calgary that the Conservative government ignored sections of the Wheat Board Act that require the passing of legislation before changes are made to the monopoly.
The government maintains it is making a regulatory change, which doesn't require a vote in the House of Commons and doesn't run the risk of being defeated in a minority Parliament.
"We live in a country where the rule of law is fundamental, and there's a right way and wrong way to do things," said Ken Ritter, the CWB's elected chairman.
"Our case is based on the fundamental premise that you have to go through legislation rather than regulation to accomplish what the government is trying to do."
The battle over wheat and barley sales has raged for the past 12 months, ever since Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl announced the Conservatives would deliver on a promise to create an open market.
The move was strongly criticized by the opposition parties and major farm associations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who argue the CWB provides a competitive advantage in an industry dominated by multinational grain companies.
The Board's single-desk structure has been the subject of a number of trade challenges by farm groups in the United States, who say it distorts the market in favour of their Canadian competitors.
Deanna Allen, the CWB's Vice-President of Communications, said the process has been surprisingly fast.
"When we first met with the Minister, he said this process would be evolutionary, not revolutionary. But we soon found out it wasn't a question of whether [the monopoly would be dismantled], but about how and when."
In October, Mr. Strahl slapped a gag order on the Wheat Board, banning if from publicly advocating for its continued existence. In the middle of elections for the farm-elected Board, the Ministry removed 16,000 voters from the lists. In December, the Minister fired CWB CEO Adrian Measner for continuing to oppose the government's plan to dismantle the organization.
And in March, the government held a plebiscite on barley that has been criticized by a pro-Wheat Board group as lacking "nearly every safeguard essential for a fair and transparent vote."
The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, a group that is also part of this week's court challenge, says the plebiscite lacked a clear question, public voters lists, a guarantee of ballot secrecy, controls on election spending and pre-determined winning conditions.
The ballot which was mailed to registered barley growers, contained three options. It asked whether farmers wanted to maintain the Board's monopoly on barley sales, end its role in barley sales, or create a dual market where farmers could sell to either the Wheat Board or any other buyer (an option a government task force told the Minister was unworkable).
No option won more than 50 percent of the vote, but the government declared victory after 38 percent voted to keep the single desk, 14 percent voted to scrap it, and 48 per cent chose a dual market.
"All Canadians - whether or not they believe in farmers' rights to work together to maximize their returns from the market - should be embarrassed by the undemocratic actions of the federal government," the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board wrote in a recent op-ed piece.
The battle over barley is seen as a dress rehearsal for the coming war over wheat, a much bigger industry with stronger emotional and historic ties to the Wheat Board.
Ms. Allen says it's important to establish whether farmers or the government will decide the Board's future.
Amendments to the Wheat Board structure in 1998 placed the Board on a more independent footing, but that independence has counted for little under the current government, she said.
The court challenge is expected to run until Friday, and it's not known when a decision will be handed down.
The market for barley is scheduled ot open on Aug. 1.
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Anders Bruun
www.campbellmarr.com
abruun@campbellmarr.com
Anders will be acting for Friends of the Wheat Board at the upcoming Federal Court of Canada hearing. Many of you may recall he and Jeff Niederhoffer successfully defended The Honourable W. Yvon Dumont in the Metis National Council Secretariat/Metis Nation Council/President Clement Chartier's ill advised and conceived taxpayer funded lawsuit.
Canadian Wheat Board Takes Ottawa to Court This Week over Conservatives' Move To Open Up Market
By Joe Friesen
The Globe And Mail
Monday, July 23, 2007
Page A6
The Canadian Wheat Board is taking the government to court this week in a last-ditch attempt to preserve its monopoly on barley sales.
The Board's lawyers will argue at a sitting of the Federal Court Wednesday in Calgary that the Conservative government ignored sections of the Wheat Board Act that require the passing of legislation before changes are made to the monopoly.
The government maintains it is making a regulatory change, which doesn't require a vote in the House of Commons and doesn't run the risk of being defeated in a minority Parliament.
"We live in a country where the rule of law is fundamental, and there's a right way and wrong way to do things," said Ken Ritter, the CWB's elected chairman.
"Our case is based on the fundamental premise that you have to go through legislation rather than regulation to accomplish what the government is trying to do."
The battle over wheat and barley sales has raged for the past 12 months, ever since Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl announced the Conservatives would deliver on a promise to create an open market.
The move was strongly criticized by the opposition parties and major farm associations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who argue the CWB provides a competitive advantage in an industry dominated by multinational grain companies.
The Board's single-desk structure has been the subject of a number of trade challenges by farm groups in the United States, who say it distorts the market in favour of their Canadian competitors.
Deanna Allen, the CWB's Vice-President of Communications, said the process has been surprisingly fast.
"When we first met with the Minister, he said this process would be evolutionary, not revolutionary. But we soon found out it wasn't a question of whether [the monopoly would be dismantled], but about how and when."
In October, Mr. Strahl slapped a gag order on the Wheat Board, banning if from publicly advocating for its continued existence. In the middle of elections for the farm-elected Board, the Ministry removed 16,000 voters from the lists. In December, the Minister fired CWB CEO Adrian Measner for continuing to oppose the government's plan to dismantle the organization.
And in March, the government held a plebiscite on barley that has been criticized by a pro-Wheat Board group as lacking "nearly every safeguard essential for a fair and transparent vote."
The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, a group that is also part of this week's court challenge, says the plebiscite lacked a clear question, public voters lists, a guarantee of ballot secrecy, controls on election spending and pre-determined winning conditions.
The ballot which was mailed to registered barley growers, contained three options. It asked whether farmers wanted to maintain the Board's monopoly on barley sales, end its role in barley sales, or create a dual market where farmers could sell to either the Wheat Board or any other buyer (an option a government task force told the Minister was unworkable).
No option won more than 50 percent of the vote, but the government declared victory after 38 percent voted to keep the single desk, 14 percent voted to scrap it, and 48 per cent chose a dual market.
"All Canadians - whether or not they believe in farmers' rights to work together to maximize their returns from the market - should be embarrassed by the undemocratic actions of the federal government," the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board wrote in a recent op-ed piece.
The battle over barley is seen as a dress rehearsal for the coming war over wheat, a much bigger industry with stronger emotional and historic ties to the Wheat Board.
Ms. Allen says it's important to establish whether farmers or the government will decide the Board's future.
Amendments to the Wheat Board structure in 1998 placed the Board on a more independent footing, but that independence has counted for little under the current government, she said.
The court challenge is expected to run until Friday, and it's not known when a decision will be handed down.
The market for barley is scheduled ot open on Aug. 1.
------
---------------------------------------------------------------------Anders Bruun
www.campbellmarr.com
abruun@campbellmarr.com
Anders will be acting for Friends of the Wheat Board at the upcoming Federal Court of Canada hearing. Many of you may recall he and Jeff Niederhoffer successfully defended The Honourable W. Yvon Dumont in the Metis National Council Secretariat/Metis Nation Council/President Clement Chartier's ill advised and conceived taxpayer funded lawsuit.
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 5:32 PM
1 Comments:
It all has to do with the North American Union. It's been signed.
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