A farm group suing the federal government over changes to Canadian Wheat Board election rules says Ottawa is stalling to prevent the case from being heard in a timely fashion.
On Sept. 17, Friends of the CWB filed suit in Federal Court alleging the government violated the CWB Act when it ordered the board in late July to change some of the rules governing voter eligibility.
The suit claims the changes improperly added or removed some producers from the voters list.
On Oct. 6, FCWB appeared before a federal court judge in Winnipeg to ask for an expedited hearing on the matter, given that the election period is already underway.
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It asked that the case be heard before Oct. 20, to provide “some degree of certainty as to the validity” of the election, and to avoid the disruption that would occur if the case was decided after the election and the court ordered a new election.
But lawyers for the federal government didn’t agree to the request for an expedited hearing and by the end of last week, little progress had been made.
FCWB spokesperson Stewart Wells said that’s because the government has engaged in stalling tactics in the courtroom.
“It is astonishing and disturbing that the Harper government is opposed to having this matter heard quickly,” he said. “If they think they’re right, why would they object to an expedited hearing?”
Government lawyers could not be reached for comment on last week’s developments.
In his July 23 letter to the board, CWB minister Gerry Ritz said the directive was issued under Section 3.07 of the CWB Act, which gives the minister the right to issue directions to the board, subject to the CWB election regulations.
FCWB argues in its application to the court that rules governing voter eligibility are set out in the act and Ritz cannot change them through a unilateral direction to the board.
It argues that Ritz’s directive would improperly allow persons who are not defined as producers in the CWB Act to vote in the election.
Wells said FCWB will propose to the court that all legitimate voters under the CWB Act be sent a ballot, disregarding the new rule that ballots be sent only to those who have delivered grain in the current or previous crop year.
The ballots would be segregated into two groups, reflecting those eligible and not eligible to receive ballots under the new rules.
The ballots would be kept separate until the court rules on the FCWB’s lawsuit.
