The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has set aside the convictions of 22 farmers found guilty of illegally exporting grain to the United States nine years ago.
In a written decision released May 2, the court quashed outright the convictions of six farmers and ordered new trials for 16 others.
All had been convicted and fined under Customs legislation for failing to report export goods in writing and for driving away in trucks that Customs officers had seized.
The judgment said six Saskatchewan farmers were following proper procedures in the spring of 1996 by trying to report to the officials as they took wheat and barley to the U.S.
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Those officers, however, asked only for Canadian Wheat Board export licences, and did not accept documents such as manifests and weigh scale certificates.
“The production of the Canadian Wheat Board licence was not required in order to comply with (section 3 of the Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations) reporting requirements,” wrote justice William Vancise.
“To the extent that the Customs officials demanded production of the Canadian Wheat Board licence, they were in error.”
The facts are unclear about what happened with the other 16 farmers, including one from Manitoba.
“A review of the evidence reveals that most of the farmers possessed documentation other than the Canadian Wheat Board licence but did not seek to provide it to the Customs officers,” said the judgment.
One appellant said his documents were refused, while others described what was in their trucks but did not provide papers.
The judgment notes that in some cases there is conflict between the evidence offered by Customs officers and by the appellants as to whether there was any attempt to produce documents.
Vancise could not say whether a defence of “officially induced error” should apply as occurred with the group of six.
“Thus, in the circumstances, while I am reluctant to do so, given the length of time these matters have been before the courts, I have no alternative but to conclude that the only fair way in which to have these matters dealt with is to set aside the convictions and order a new trial.”
Horst Dahlem, the federal prosecutor in this case, could not be reached for comment on whether the crown would proceed.
Art Mainil, who farms at Benson, Sask., is one of those who could be going back to provincial court.
He hadn’t yet read the judgment when reached by telephone but said he had concerns about the time and money the case is costing taxpayers.
He also said he would prefer a jury trial. He thinks most people would agree the wheat board’s monopoly on western Canadian wheat and barley exports is discriminatory.
“There isn’t a jury in Canada that would convict us,” he said.
