The legal challenge against the Canadian Wheat Board election is being driven more by politics and ideology than real concern over the fairness of the election, say some candidates not directly involved in the court case.
“I think there is a deliberate attempt by Art Mainil and others to discredit the whole election process, Meyers Norris Penny and the wheat board,” said District 8 candidate Terry Hanson.
“He will stop at nothing to make a mockery of the whole process.”
Mainil, who was also on the ballot in District 8, has filed a statement of claim in federal court alleging a series of irregularities in the election process and asking the court to order a new election.
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As a result of the court challenge, the vote count originally scheduled for Dec. 13 has been delayed while the court considers the case.
Hanson thinks MNP and the board should have gone ahead with the vote count and announced the results as planned Dec. 13.
“This is just a nuisance,” he said. “If it’s thrown out he (Mainil) should stand all the costs involved.”
District 6 candidate Ian McCreary shares Hanson’s concerns about the motives behind the case, saying that there was a concerted effort by some anti-single desk candidates during the campaign to attack the fairness of the process.
“I think maybe that is happening, that there is a group working together to undermine the election,” he said. While acknowledging that there were some problems with the voters list and some individuals getting ballots, McCreary said that overall the election was run fairly.
“I’ve been involved in federal elections where we’ve had bigger problems than this.”
The claim centres on the fact that 792 names were left off the voters list provided to election co-ordinator MNP by the wheat board in mid-October. New ballots were sent out, but a number of formal deadlines were missed and as a result the election was “fatally flawed,” according to the claim.
The claim also suggests radio advertisements run by MNP to promote the election favoured incumbent candidates.
Mainil, an outspoken critic of the CWB marketing system for many years, said his only motivation is to have a fair and proper election. And he does have strong support from at least one of his fellow candidates, as well as some farmers.
Tom Jackson, who ran in District 4, filed an affidavit in support of the statement of claim and in an interview criticized the job done by the board and MNP running the election.
The failure to meet various deadlines for distributing ballots and the inability of some eligible voters to get ballots constitutes “irreparable harm” to the system, he said.
“I want a free and fair and democratic election,” said Jackson. “If that can be salvaged out of this present process, great. If not we’ll have to find another way, like a new election.”
Farmer Ron Duffy of Lacombe, Alta., questioned in particular why the number of names on this year’s voters list was down by 25 percent.
“We want to know who’s playing God with the ballots?” he said.
