OTTAWA – Prairie farmers who want the government to end the Canadian Wheat Board export monopoly should use democracy rather than illegal acts to make their point, says the minister responsible for border controls.
Revenue minister Jane Stewart said Monday she has heard the threats from some prairie farmers that despite the government announcement of a winter vote on barley, they plan to keep trying to export without a permit.
She said her customs officers will be under orders to enforce the board’s export monopoly until it is changed.
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“There are always laws before the House and until they are changed, the law is the law,” said Stewart. “I just hope the farming community considers the options that are there for them and that they choose to take the lawful pathway as opposed to those that aren’t. We have a job to do and we will do it.”
She said the border disputes on the Prairies have been difficult for her customs agents because many of them live in small towns that straddle the border.
Charging friends
Sometimes, they end up enforcing the export ban against their own neighbors and friends.
“From the point of view of the employees, they are good men and women,” said Stewart. “They are doing their job. Revenue Canada cannot cherry pick which laws it upholds and which laws it ignores.”
Stewart said border runners will continue to be charged and will continue to face the full force of the law as long as it is the law.
