SASKATOON – Dave Sawatzky will soon have his day in court.
The MacGregor, Man., farmer who made headlines in the past year by shipping wheat into the United States without an export permit, has been charged under the Canada Customs Act. He is to appear in provincial court in Winnipeg Dec. 14.
While Sawatzky has always been willing to talk publicly about his activities, that’s no longer the case now that courts and lawyers are involved.
“At this point in time, it’s best for me to refrain from making any type of comment,” Sawatzky said in an interview from his farm. “I just have to be very careful what I say. That’s what I was advised.”
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The charges were laid under Section 95 of the Customs Act. Ron Ferniuk of Revenue Canada said the section requires that exporters stop and report to customs agents and show any permits or other documents that are required. He declined to discuss details of Sawatzky’s case.
The maximum penalty for violating this section is a $50,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
Sawatzky gained notoriety in September when he invited the media along to watch as he attempted unsuccessfully to truck a load of wheat across the border at Gretna, Man., without an export permit. A few days later, RCMP and customs agents raided his home and seized grain delivery records and other documents.
Supported by other farmers
At a rally in Regina Oct. 20, Sawatzky received a hero’s welcome from a crowd of several hundred dual market supporters, who cheered when he said: “I’m not in jail and I haven’t been charged.”
Asked last week if he is surprised that he now has been charged, Sawatzky said that when it comes to politics and actions by bureaucrats and government, “nothing surprises me.”
While export permits for wheat and barley are issued by the Canadian Wheat Board under its own legislative authority, Sawatzky was charged under the Customs Act, not the CWB Act.
Wouldn’t survive court challenge
Some dual market proponents say the board and the federal government are reluctant to lay charges under the CWB Act because they fear it wouldn’t stand up to a court challenge based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Sawatzky, who doesn’t hold a permit book and argues the board’s rules don’t apply to him, said last week he thinks the board and its supporters are taking a big chance by pursuing legal action against people exporting without a CWB permit.
“What happens if the (decision) goes against the wheat board and customs regulations?” he said, suggesting that those who favor the board’s monopoly powers may rue the day the case went to court.
Wheat board officials say the decision to lay charges and under which act, is solely up to the RCMP and the department of justice, not the marketing agency.
Just two days before Sawatzky was served with his summons, wheat board commissioner Gordon Machej said there were no plans to pursue illegal exporters in the courts. Interviewed after the charges were laid, Machej said he knew when he made that earlier statement police were “working on things” but the board had no advance notice of what eventually happened.
The board is now defending itself against a lawsuit launched by the Alberta Barley Commission and a group of farmers that challenges its monopoly powers under the charter.
