VancouverSun.com:
WINNIPEG - The Canadian Wheat Board is turning to the courts once again to prevent the Harper government from legislating away its exclusive powers to market Prairie wheat and barley.
The board will ask the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench to rule that Bill C-18 is invalid because it violates the rule of law. It will also seek an order to prevent the bill's implementation while its legality is being determined.
Lawyers for the board and the federal government will appear in Queen's Bench court on Friday to set a date for a hearing.
Time is running out for the wheat board. The federal government expects that Bill C-18 will be approved by the Senate before the weekend.
Allen Oberg, the wheat board's chairman, told a news conference Wednesday that a CWB victory in the Federal Court of Canada Dec. 7 has raised hopes that this latest legal action will succeed.
``There were many naysayers out there that said the (earlier) court action was frivolous, it was a waste of time, a waste of farmers' money. And obviously we've seen that that case was anything but frivolous,'' Oberg said.
A Federal Court judge ruled that federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law when he introduced Bill C-18 without consulting the board or holding a plebiscite of Prairie growers. Ottawa is appealing the ruling and pressing on with passage of the bill.
Once passed, the government would seize control of the CWB's operations and give its farmer-elected directors - the people taking it to court - the boot. The Conservatives plan to create an open market for Prairie wheat and barley by Aug. 1.
Oberg said the government is placing itself ``above the law'' by proceeding with the bill. He has written to Gov. Gen. David Johnston asking him to withhold royal assent in light of the Federal Court ruling.
``It's unconscionable for a government in a parliamentary democracy to proceed with legislation in the face of a court order that has declared it illegal,'' said Oberg, an Alberta farmer. He said an application to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench was the most ``expedient'' course of action.
Standing with federal wheat board directors at a news conference at a Winnipeg airport hotel Wednesday were interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale and Liberal Senator Bob Peterson.
Rae said the issue before Canadians is more than one of giving farmers a say over the future of the wheat board. It's ``about democracy itself,'' he said.
``Mr. Harper thinks the fight is over,'' said Rae. ``The fight ain't over.''
In Ottawa, Ritz said the government is focused on getting the legislation passed, despite a further court challenge.
``We continue to stand up for all farmers and are equally disappointed that the directors would continue to put the industry at risk with this desperate and reckless action,'' he said in an emailed statement.
The Harper government has argued that as a matter of principle farmers should be free to market their wheat and barley as they choose. That means not being compelled to market through the wheat board. A sizable minority of Prairie farmers appear to agree with Ottawa. They have enthusiastically backed Bill C-18.
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, one of the bill's supporters, said Wednesday it would seek to intervene in the Queen's Bench hearing. Rolf Penner, a Manitoba director of wheat growers, said the group will oppose any delays in implementing the legislation.
``I think a lot of farmers are quite fed up with this whole thing and think that it's just time to move on,'' Penner said. ``It really seems like (the wheat board and its supporters) are grasping at straws and legal technicalities to put speed bumps in the way, but at the end of the day it comes back to the right of a farmer to sell his grain to whomever they want.''
Since Ottawa is committed to ending the board's monopoly, Penner said, ``they're going to figure out a way to do it.''
NDP MP Pat Martin, the official Opposition critic for the CWB, said he supports the wheat board's latest court action. He called on Ritz to end the confusion over the wheat board's future by holding a farm vote to decide the issue of the CWB's monopoly once and for all.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Wheat Board taking feds court last ditch pitch survival/5864698/story.html#ixzz1gi9CDDUZ
WINNIPEG - The Canadian Wheat Board is turning to the courts once again to prevent the Harper government from legislating away its exclusive powers to market Prairie wheat and barley.
The board will ask the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench to rule that Bill C-18 is invalid because it violates the rule of law. It will also seek an order to prevent the bill's implementation while its legality is being determined.
Lawyers for the board and the federal government will appear in Queen's Bench court on Friday to set a date for a hearing.
Time is running out for the wheat board. The federal government expects that Bill C-18 will be approved by the Senate before the weekend.
Allen Oberg, the wheat board's chairman, told a news conference Wednesday that a CWB victory in the Federal Court of Canada Dec. 7 has raised hopes that this latest legal action will succeed.
``There were many naysayers out there that said the (earlier) court action was frivolous, it was a waste of time, a waste of farmers' money. And obviously we've seen that that case was anything but frivolous,'' Oberg said.
A Federal Court judge ruled that federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law when he introduced Bill C-18 without consulting the board or holding a plebiscite of Prairie growers. Ottawa is appealing the ruling and pressing on with passage of the bill.
Once passed, the government would seize control of the CWB's operations and give its farmer-elected directors - the people taking it to court - the boot. The Conservatives plan to create an open market for Prairie wheat and barley by Aug. 1.
Oberg said the government is placing itself ``above the law'' by proceeding with the bill. He has written to Gov. Gen. David Johnston asking him to withhold royal assent in light of the Federal Court ruling.
``It's unconscionable for a government in a parliamentary democracy to proceed with legislation in the face of a court order that has declared it illegal,'' said Oberg, an Alberta farmer. He said an application to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench was the most ``expedient'' course of action.
Standing with federal wheat board directors at a news conference at a Winnipeg airport hotel Wednesday were interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale and Liberal Senator Bob Peterson.
Rae said the issue before Canadians is more than one of giving farmers a say over the future of the wheat board. It's ``about democracy itself,'' he said.
``Mr. Harper thinks the fight is over,'' said Rae. ``The fight ain't over.''
In Ottawa, Ritz said the government is focused on getting the legislation passed, despite a further court challenge.
``We continue to stand up for all farmers and are equally disappointed that the directors would continue to put the industry at risk with this desperate and reckless action,'' he said in an emailed statement.
The Harper government has argued that as a matter of principle farmers should be free to market their wheat and barley as they choose. That means not being compelled to market through the wheat board. A sizable minority of Prairie farmers appear to agree with Ottawa. They have enthusiastically backed Bill C-18.
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, one of the bill's supporters, said Wednesday it would seek to intervene in the Queen's Bench hearing. Rolf Penner, a Manitoba director of wheat growers, said the group will oppose any delays in implementing the legislation.
``I think a lot of farmers are quite fed up with this whole thing and think that it's just time to move on,'' Penner said. ``It really seems like (the wheat board and its supporters) are grasping at straws and legal technicalities to put speed bumps in the way, but at the end of the day it comes back to the right of a farmer to sell his grain to whomever they want.''
Since Ottawa is committed to ending the board's monopoly, Penner said, ``they're going to figure out a way to do it.''
NDP MP Pat Martin, the official Opposition critic for the CWB, said he supports the wheat board's latest court action. He called on Ritz to end the confusion over the wheat board's future by holding a farm vote to decide the issue of the CWB's monopoly once and for all.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Read more: http://www.canada.com/Wheat Board taking feds court last ditch pitch survival/5864698/story.html#ixzz1gi9CDDUZ
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