A group of farmers has filed a statement of claim in Alberta provincial court against the Canadian Grain Commission, alleging it allowed a grain dealer to operate an elevator without a licence despite knowing it was in financial difficulty.
About 40 farmers and truckers lost $358,000 when All Grain Alberta Ltd. went into receivership in August 2001.
The farmers allege that the commission knew Thomas Erling-Tyrell, owner of All Grain, was operating a grain elevator in Bentley, Alta., without the proper licences, yet the commission didn’t close the elevator.
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Under the Canada Grain Act, no one can operate a primary grain elevator without a licence from the commission.
“Producers would not have sold their product to All Grain if they would have been aware of the situation,” said Gary Broenner, who lost about $8,000 when the company declared bankruptcy.
Ed Lefsrud, a farmer from Viking, Alta., who lost $2,202, said the producers are trying to recover their money.
He said he didn’t lose a lot, but “enough to raise your eyebrows.”
The grain commission spent more than four years writing letters to Erling-Tyrell in an attempt to get him licensed, Lefsrud added, with no regard to farmers’ interests. The farmers hope to prove that the grain commission did not do due diligence, and then recover the money they lost.
“The grain commission should have its knuckles rapped,” he said.
Paul Graham, information officer with the grain commission, said he could say little about the case because it’s before the courts. He confirmed that the statement of claim had been filed.
A statement of claim is a document of unproven allegations. The commission has yet to file its statement of defence.
