Saskatchewan farmers who tried to take their crop insurance case to Canada’s highest court were turned down last week.
The Supreme Court of Canada said it would not hear an appeal of a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision that overturned a class action certification.
Terry Zakreski, the Saskatoon lawyer for Michael Hicks and Leigh Stuart, the individuals listed on the action, said the class had been certified at the Queen’s Bench court but was overturned in February on appeal.
The case stemmed from crop insurance’s annual crop weather based program, which is no longer offered. Farmers could choose coverage for either drought or early frost and had to select a weather station located within 100 kilometres of the insured land.
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The farmers near Glaslyn, in northwestern Saskatchewan, chose the weather station near that community.
On Aug. 10, 2005, the area experienced significant frost, Zakreski said.
“There was frost on the windshield of his car,” he said of one of the farmers. “The water in the dog bowl froze.”
But the Glaslyn weather station, located on that same farm, did not record the frost.
Crop insurance did not make payments to any of the farmers who had selected that station and the farmers decided to start legal action.
Zakreski said the Glaslyn station was not an Environment Canada station but one installed by a private company hired by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. to provide additional stations.
The company, Tru Elements Ltd., did not defend itself during the legal action, Zakreski said.
The farmers pursued their case against SCIC but the Supreme Court said July 9 it would not allow an appeal to proceed.
Within the next few weeks, Hicks and Stuart will decide on any further action against Tru Elements, Zakreski said.
