Class action suit considered | Fight may go all the way to Supreme Court
The legal quagmire surrounding the Canadian Wheat Board continues to deepen.
Last week, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) announced that it is prepared to broaden its legal challenge against Ottawa if cases now before the courts are not successful in stopping implementation of the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act.
Larry Bohdanovich, a producer from Grandview, Man., and a member of the FCWB, said the group will seek a Supreme Court hearing if necessary and is also considering a class action lawsuit against Ottawa on behalf of participating grain producers.
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Bohdanovich said a class action suit will be launched only after all other legal avenues aimed at blocking the act, including an application for a Supreme Court hearing, have been exhausted.
“We’re not going to initiate it … until we’ve exhausted all other legal remedies,” he said.
The FCWB announcement came just days after Regina lawyer Tony Merchant launched a separate class action suit against Ottawa on behalf of prairie grain farmers.
Merchant’s suit claims farmers are owed $300 million that originated from CWB’s pool accounts.
The $300 million claim includes $100 million from the CWB contingency fund, $65 million that was used as a down payment on a pair of ships, about $100 million tied up in board-owned hopper cars and a Winnipeg office building that is worth roughly $14 million.
Bohdanovich declined to comment on Merchant’s class action suit but said it is up to farmers and single-desk supporters to decide whether they want to join Merchant’s action or support the FCWB’s efforts to block legislation aimed at ending the single desk.
“We are observing (Merchant’s lawsuit) from the side. We’re not endorsing it or condemning it, but that’s not part of what (we’re involved in),” Bohdanovich said.
“Mr. Merchant is known for class action suits in Western Canada. We are not affiliated with him. We are affiliated with Winnipeg lawyer Anders Bruun as legal counsel. We have followed and have been defending farmer rights since 2006 … on issues regarding the wheat board so we’ve got a depth of history and experience there.”
If the FCWB does launch a class action against Ottawa, it could be years before the lawsuit is initiated, Bohdanovich added.
The value of an FCWB-sponsored class action would likely be determined in consultation with other aggrieved parties, including the Canadian Wheat Board Alliance, the National Farmers Union and eight farmer-elected directors that were removed from the CWB’s board in mid-December.
In the more immediate future, the group is fully prepared to argue against the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act before Canada’s top court if other legal challenges prove fruitless.
Bohdanovich said the group will need $350,000 to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, a small amount given what’s at stake.
The money will be raised from producers and other organizations that oppose the act.
“We’re going to begin soliciting funds from the farm community very shortly,” he said.
“Our legal counsel has said (it will cost) around $350,000…. You can’t buy a combine for that right now.”
Another court case, this one seeking an injunction against the act, was scheduled to be heard in Winnipeg this week.
Bohdanovich acknowledged that ongoing legal battles could have a negative impact on sales to international grain buyers, but he said the blame for any negative market impact rests with Ottawa and not with FCWB.
“There may be turmoil, but the federal government created that turmoil, we didn’t.”
A statement issued on behalf of federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said Ottawa is disappointed to see further “misguided legal action.”
“This baseless action in no way affects the (legislation) or western farmers’ ability to forward contract right now for an open market on Aug. 1, 2012,” Ritz said.
