WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Court of Queen’s bench dismissed a class action lawsuit against the Canadian Wheat Board on May 24 over the way it handled the 1993-94 feed wheat pool.
The suit was launched in December 1995 by M-Jay Farm Enterprises Ltd., owned by Fran and Jake Hoeppner of Snowflake, Man. Jake Hoeppner is the Reform MP for Lisgar-Marquette.
The statement of claim for the suit contended the wheat board should have charged higher buy-back fees to large exporters of feed wheat because they sold fusarium-infected wheat into the higher-priced U.S. human consumption market.
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Lawyers for the wheat board had filed a motion to strike the statement of claim on the grounds it was frivolous or vexatious.
The case would have involved looking into thousands of feed wheat transactions, said board spokesperson Rhea Yates, “so we maintained this was a fishing expedition.”
Patrick Riley, lawyer for M-Jay Farm Enterprises, said he will be filing an appeal.
Statement of defence filed
Lawyers for the wheat board also filed a statement of defence in another lawsuit, this one from a group of 16 farmers and farm enterprises who were charged dockage, elevation, freight and storage on grain they bought back and exported.
According to court documents, the service charges added up to $95,750.08.
The wheat board’s statement of defence states any service charges that may have been levied were levied by the grain companies the farmers dealt with, not by the wheat board.
“Obviously, my clients’ position is that the grain companies are agents of the wheat board and the wheat board is responsible for their actions,” said Riley.
The second lawsuit has not yet been heard at the Court of Queen’s Bench.
