WINNIPEG – Farmers who export wheat and barley without Canadian Wheat Board licenses and refuse to surrender their trucks at Canada Customs may find unwanted guests at their doorstep.
Customs officials searched the farm of Norm and Edith Desrochers of Baldur, Man. on April 10 to retrieve a truck the Desrochers admit was used to haul grain across the border without a proper permit.
“The Customs Act is an extremely serious piece of legislation and we will be continuing to enforce (it),” said Ron Ferniuk, a spokesperson with Canada Customs.
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Edith Desrochers said her family was upset by the search, which occurred about 5:30 a.m.
“I’m just guessing, but I just think maybe they thought they might teach somebody a lesson, because there was another convoy going across (the border) that day and coming back the next day,” she said.
The Desrochers are members of Farmers for Justice, a group protesting the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly on export sales of western grown wheat and barley. They have been involved in protests against the wheat board where farmers hauled grain to the United States without valid wheat board export permits.
Ferniuk denies customs officials were trying to make an example of the Desrochers.
“They definitely weren’t singled out other than because they had broken the law,” he said.
The search was made in the early hours of the morning because customs officers wanted to make sure the vehicle was there and the Desrochers were home, Ferniuk said, adding officials believe farmers are “out and about very early.”
Customs also delivered court summons for the Desrochers and their son Clayton. They have been charged with failing to report exported grain as required by the Customs Act, failing to surrender seized goods and removing goods from a customs office. They are to appear in court in Brandon, Man. on May 8.
Desrochers said she was disturbed customs officers entered her home because it was not included in the search warrant. They also prevented her from using the phone.
Sgt. Gerry Jennings of the RCMP said customs officials got the warrant and four RCMP officers were at the scene at customs’ request to prevent arguments and altercations.
Jennings said isolating the scene of a search is standard procedure, including preventing those being searched from using the phone in case they call people who might try to intervene in or disrupt the search.
Desrochers said her family has received a lot of support from other Farmers for Justice members. Reform MP Jake Hoeppner made a video of the family’s story and the search scene.
Ferniuk could not say whether other searches would be conducted.
“If you choose to leave the border when you’ve been notified that your vehicle is under seizure, and you leave without paying the fine to get your vehicle released, then … your vehicle can be seized at a later date,” he said.
