A union representing thousands of federal government employees wants to be a court player Dec. 6 when a judge is expected to hear arguments about the legality of ending the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, representing wheat board, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Canadian Grain Commission employees, announced today it has applied to be an intervener when a Friends of the CWB legal challenge is heard by a Federal Court judge, likely Dec. 6 in Winnipeg.
The Council of Canadians and several other activist non-governmental organizations also are asking to be allowed to intervene.
The FCWB is going to court to argue that the Conservative government is violating the 1998 Canadian Wheat Board Act requirement that changes to the board mandate cannot happen without a vote among affected farmers.
Instead, the Conservatives have introduced legislation to end the CWB single desk and rescind the CWB Act without a farmer vote at the July 31 end of the 2011-12 crop year.
The government argues the Parliament that approved CWB Act amendments in 1998 cannot impose rules on future Parliaments, including this one.
In today’s announcement, PSAC president John Gordon said the end of the CWB monopoly “will be putting the safety of our grain supply at risk. Our union is committed to fighting Bill C-18 and protecting the interests of farmers and food safety.”
The announcement said PSAC members, including grain inspectors, believe that with the end of the CWB monopoly “the reputation of Canada for producing and exporting grain of the highest quality will suffer irreparable damage as a result of the dissolution of the Canadian Wheat Board.”
Council of Canadians national chair Maude Barlow said the government’s move to eliminate the CWB single desk is undemocratic and disrespectful of farmers.
