The Canadian Grain Commission has rejected a claim by a group of farmers that it knowingly allowed an Alberta grain company to operate without a proper licence.
In its statement of defence, the commission, the federal agency in charge of grain regulations, rejected the claim that it was negligent in not forcing All Grain Alberta to get the proper licences or close it down. The company was operating out of the former United Grain Growers elevator in Bentley, Alta.
“The crown expressly denies that the commission bears a duty to license grain elevators where no application is made for a licence,” said the statement.
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Paul Graham, information officer with the Canadian Grain Commission, said he couldn’t comment on the case while it was before the court.
About 40 farmers lost $358,000 when Thomas Erling-Tyrell, the owner of All-Grain, filed for bankruptcy in February 2001.
Gary Broenner of Mundare, Alta., said the grain commission ignored its own rules when it didn’t license All-Grain. The Canadian Grain Act said it must be clear to producers whether the companies or individuals they are dealing with are licensed. Under the act, no one can operate a primary grain elevator without a licence from the commission.
Several farmers, including Broenner, delivered grain to the elevator in Ben-tley believing it was like hundreds of other grain elevators across the Prairies.
For two years the grain commission corresponded with All Grain owner Erling Tyrell without successfully determining whether his operation required a licence.
In one document, assistant grain commissioner Hartmann Nagel said he was unsuccessful in getting an answer: Erling Tyrell “was quite aggressive during the interview and seemed to want to question our right to require him to be licensed. Therefore, I chose not to get into it with this guy on the telephone. I’ll send him the documents to read so he is better informed.”
Another document from grain commission compliance officer Peter Clarke said the company was not licensed with the CGC, although the commission was in the process of getting the company licensed.
Broenner, one of 21 farmers suing the federal agency, has carried on a letter writing campaign to the federal and provincial governments, including former prime minister Jean Chrétien, in an effort to gain political support for his cause.
Broenner said it’s now up to their lawyer to prove the grain commission was negligent.
