Winnipeg, MB, August 3, 2011—The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) today called on the Federal Court of Canada and the Harper Government to have its request for a Judicial Review (filed on June 27, 2011) of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’ proposed changes to the Canadian Wheat Board, to be heard in open court rather than behind closed doors. The FCWB are fighting the latest Government of Canada move to have their court case heard behind closed doors and out of public view.

Larry Bohdanovich, a member of the FCWB and a grain producer at Grandview, Manitoba, said that, "In a previous court action by the Friends, the Federal Government argued that farmers did not have ‘legal standing’ to make their arguments before a judge. The Government was proved wrong by the court. So now the Government is taking a new approach and trying to stop the current case from being heard in open court. The Harper Government's move to suppress and bury our court challenge is totally unacceptable to prairie farmers and indeed anyone who believes in the democratic process."

The present court case is in reaction to Ag Minister Gerry Ritz’ public statement that he intends to repeal the existing Canadian Wheat Board Act to avoid having to consult with farmers through a producer plebiscite as required under Section 47.1 of the current Act. In other words, Mr. Ritz is prepared to completely and irrevocably dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board in order to avoid a democratic producer vote which he is unlikely to win.    

"Because the Government is acting in such an arbitrary and mean-spirited manner, the CWB itself has been forced to conduct a farmer vote,” said Luc Labossiere, a grain producer at St. Leon, Manitoba. "It is extremely important for all farmers to return their ballots as soon as possible to let Minister Ritz know their views on how they wish to market their wheat, durum and barley now and into the future."

The FCWB first took the Federal Government to court in 2007 when it attempted to remove barley from the CWB’s marketing mandate via an Order-in-Council or by Cabinet edict. The Friends won—the federal court judge siding with the FCWB said that such a change had to be done through Parliament in accordance with the CWB Act.

Based on a recently published study by Professor Schmitz which reviewed actual CWB sales data, the Friends’ 2007 court victory has put an additional $428 million in western farmers' pockets.

Contact:

Larry Bohdanovich, Ph: (204) 546-3154 / 638-1893
Luc Labossiere, Ph: (204) 744-2208 / 825-7249 (English or French)