SASKATOON (Staff) – Manitoba farmer and grain trucker Dave Sawatzky was scheduled to appear in a Winnipeg courtroom April 12 to face charges of shipping grain across the U.S. border in violation of Canada Customs regulations.
Sawatzky spent a night in jail last week after the crown attorney reported to a provincial court judge that Sawatzky had traveled to the U.S. in violation of his bail conditions. Sawatzky said he had to deliver a load of oats to a buyer in Minneapolis and couldn’t find another driver.
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At a hearing the next day, Sawatzky was released and told to report to Canada Customs officials before attempting to cross the border again. In an interview Sawatzky said he made the trip out of financial necessity and rejected suggestions he had orchestrated the whole sequence of events to gain publicity.
“I didn’t do it for the purpose of publicity or to draw attention to myself and I didn’t want to go to jail,” he said. “It was not for the purpose of blatantly disregarding or violating the law, it was financial hardship.”
Two other Manitoba farmers facing similar charges, Andy McMechan and Bill Cairns, were to appear in court in Brandon April 12.
