A two-year old dispute over who was eligible to vote in the Canadian Wheat Board 2008 director elections will be settled in a Winnipeg court beginning Jan. 20.
The federal court of Canada will hear a case involving the federal government and pro-wheat board group, Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB).
FCWB launched the lawsuit in September 2008 claiming federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz had illegally ordered changes to voter eligibility rules.
Ritz ordered the changes in the summer of 2008, about three months before CWB director elections.
The changes included:
- Allowing producers without a CWB permit book to obtain a ballot by presenting evidence, such as crop insurance documents or grain receipts, proving that they grew eligible grain crops in the current or previous crop year.
- Removing from the voters list producers who had a permit book but had not delivered eligible grains to the CWB in the current or previous crop year.
FCWB members claim the rule changes contravened the Canadian Wheat Board Act and represented a deliberate attempt by the federal government to influence the outcome of the elections.
Ritz said the changes were a legal attempt to ensure “the proper conducting and supervision” of the 2008 director elections.
FCWB member Stewart Wells said the case will decide whether the changes were legal and determine whether a federal minister has the power to unilaterally change voter eligibility rules.
“The issue for us is can the minister, under any circumstance, change the (voter eligibility) regulations just through a letter of instruction,” he said.
