STAFF – Farmers who listened to final arguments in a constitutional challenge of the Canadian Wheat Board Act say it’s hard to tell who won the case.
Three Alberta farmers named as plaintiffs and the general manager of the Alberta Barley Commission travelled to Winnipeg to hear the last five days of arguments in the trial, which started in Calgary in October.
They listened to lawyers spend hours quoting past charter cases, most of which had nothing to do with agriculture, but involved the same freedoms they say the wheat board act infringes on.
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Tim Harvie said he was relieved the trial is over but noted the case won’t end until justice Francis Muldoon delivers his decision.
“You don’t know if you’re winning or losing,” said Harvie, who farms near Cochrane, Alta. “The judge hasn’t tipped his hand at all.”
Harvie said it was important for him to hear final arguments to give some closure to the three years of effort he and fellow plaintiffs put into the case.
The general manager of the Alberta Barley Commission said the group will have spent more than $1 million on the case by the time it’s over.
Clifton Foster said the commission is funded by a refundable checkoff on barley in the province. Some individuals also contributed to legal fees.
Harvie and Foster said they haven’t considered what they’ll do if they lose the case. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Harvie said.
“We may get a win, but not a complete win; we may get a loss, but not a complete loss,” added Foster.
“But no matter what degree of win and loss, this issue will never go away until farmers have a voluntary marketing system,” said Harvie.
