BALGONIE, Sask. – Ottawa’s decision to appeal a Federal Court ruling on barley marketing is either the right thing to do or a waste of money, depending on whom you ask.
Predictably, friends and foes of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk authority over barley sales lined up on either side of the issue after federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced the appeal at a grain farm east of Regina Aug. 30.
Flanked by farmers who support his decision, including the presidents of the Western Barley Growers Association and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, Ritz said the government was standing up for the change that farmers want.
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“We are firm in the belief that because barley was brought into the Canadian Wheat Board mandate through regulation, it can be removed the same way,” he said. “We continue to believe that our legal arguments are solid and defensible.
“That’ll be the basis of the appeal.”
Justice Dolores Hansen rejected that argument in her July 31 ruling, when she said that type of change had to be done by Parliament.
Wheat growers president Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel said she believes there were factual errors in the ruling.
“We’re very happy that the federal government is going the route of an appeal,” she said. “We were very adamant that the federal government had the authority to go this route.”
But wheat board director Rod Flaman said the ruling was clear and there are no strong grounds for appeal.
“I think the government has little or no chance of winning this appeal,” he told reporters.
Stewart Wells, president of the National Farmers Union and a member of the Friends of the CWB, which took the government to court, agreed.
He said the Conservative government is ignoring the law in favour of its partisan policies.
“Just because it’s an election promise doesn’t make it legal,” added Winnipeg NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who attended Ritz’s announcement.
Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter said the government, aside from breaking the law, is creating uncertainty in the marketplace.
He and other critics said they believed the directive to appeal came straight from prime minister Stephen Harper.
“This shows an absolute arrogance for the courts, the judge and the Parliament of Canada,” Easter said. “To appeal, you need a point of law and not just the fact that the prime minister is not happy.”
Barley growers president Jeff Nielsen said farmers aren’t happy that they can’t market their own barley the way they sell their canola, pulse crops, flax and oats. He said barley is only 10 percent of the board’s business and marketing changes it promised haven’t happened fast enough.
The barley and wheat growers want the government to issue export permits to individuals or grain companies so they can market on their own.
Flaman said that would defeat the purpose of the single desk. He said that instead of trying to destroy the board, the government should analyze how it works and use it to help farmers.
He also questioned why Ottawa is so focused on barley marketing when issues such as input costs and world trade have a big impact on farmers’ bottom lines.
“The wheat board, as near and dear as it is to my heart, is not really the biggest issue facing agriculture,” Flaman said.
Ritz couldn’t say how much this legal fight has cost or will cost to continue.
“I think the money is well spent,” he said.
Alberta Agriculture minister George Groeneveld said his government would continue to support Ottawa’s efforts. Saskatchewan’s minister, Mark Wartman, said that province will provide financial support, if necessary, to the Friends of the CWB. Manitoba also supports the wheat board.
