Jim Chatenay does not know his fate when he returns to active duty as a
Canadian Wheat Board director.
He was released from jail Nov. 23 after serving time for refusing to
pay a $2,500 fine for a customs violation when he took wheat to Montana
without an export permit. Now the rebellious farmer director vows to
continue his fight against the wheat board monopoly over western grain
sales.
Board chair Ken Ritter said in a radio interview that the board of
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directors will consider its action when Chatenay returns to the
boardroom.
“I will hold my head up high. I have done nothing wrong. I represent a
lot of people,” Chatenay said.
He remains angry that he and 12 other farmers were incarcerated Oct.
31. Three farmers remain in the Lethbridge jail and are to be released
Dec. 4.
The rest of the group was released after serving a week in jail when
fundraisers paid their fines. About $29,000 was raised.
It has been an emotional period for Chatenay, particularly after 19
combines showed up at his Red Deer area farm to harvest 430 acres of
barley left in the field. Neighbours took over drying the crop and
helped sell it to local feedlots for more than $4 a bushel.
Chatenay and his supporters plan to hire a team of lawyers to challenge
the wheat board monopoly and customs rules over grain exports. They
argue western farmers are discriminated against because producers in
Eastern Canada are not subject to the same rules.
