The contentious issue of who controls the Canadian Wheat Board could end up before the Supreme Court of Canada.
The board announced last week it will seek leave to appeal to the high court a June 23 ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal.
The lower court ruled unanimously that the federal government has the authority to direct the CWB on any matter of governance.
The issue of who has ultimate control was sparked by a 2006 government order prohibiting the CWB from speaking out in favour of the single desk. A lower court rescinded the order in 2008, but the court of appeal overturned that decision.
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CWB chair Larry Hill said the agency’s board of directors considers the issue to be fundamental to the organization.
“This is about farmer control of the CWB,” he said in an interview from his farm near Swift Current, Sask.
He attended the initial meeting shortly after the board’s structure was revamped in 1998 with former CWB minister Ralph Goodale. Goodale, he said, made it clear the changes were designed to put farmers in charge of the CWB.
“The intent of the 1998 CWB Act was for the farmers of Western Canada to control the agency through their elected directors and we feel it’s important to maintain that though the courts,” said Hill.
The court of appeal rejected that interpretation, saying in Section 18 (1), the act makes it clear that in the event of a disagreement, the government retains the ultimate power to make decisions about the CWB.
The board must file its application seeking leave to appeal by Sept. 22. It’s expected the court will decide in February or March of 2010 whether to hear the case.
Hill said he’s optimistic the case will proceed.
If the court agrees to hear the case, it will likely be argued in the late 2010 and a decision rendered early in 2011.
Hill said it’s important to have a definitive court ruling on the issue, regardless of which party is in power.
Following the June 23 appeal court ruling, CWB minister Gerry Ritz welcomed the decision.
“We’ve always believed that farmers’ money should be spent on marketing wheat and not the wheat board and we are glad to see the courts agree,” he said.
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, a pro-open market group, said it was disappointed with the CWB’s decision to carry on with the case.
“The wheat board should concentrate on selling our grain for the best possible price,” said association president Kevin Bender in a news release.
“It should not be playing politics and using farmers’ money to promote the monopoly.”
