OTTAWA – When Parliament re-assembles Sept. 16, Reform MPs plan to demand some answers from the Liberals about why Canada Customs agents planned to spy on anti-Canadian Wheat Board protesters.
One MP will call for a parliamentary inquiry.
“I take this very, very seriously,” Calgary MP Art Hanger said Aug. 29. “I see this as part of a Liberal mentality to use state resources to come down on those who are exercising their right to dissent.”
He was reacting to reports that Canada Customs agents wanted Alberta Legislature security to watch and report on farmers planning to rally against the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly.
Read Also
Made-in-Manitoba sunflower hybrid heads to market
Glacier FarmMedia – Manitoba’s confection sunflower growers will have a new seed option next spring that was developed specifically to…
He said he and other Reform MPs will try to convince a Commons committee – justice, finance or agriculture – to hold hearings to get to the bottom of the affair.
Hanger, critic for the solicitor general’s department and one of Reform’s chief law-and-order spokespersons, said it was “outrageous” that the government would “spy on law-abiding, hard-working farmers who choose to exercise their democratic right of protest.”
Wants measures taken
Peace River Reform MP Charlie Penson said he was writing a letter to revenue minister Jane Stewart, demanding that she apologize to Farmers for Justice and the Alberta government. Then, she should fire the customs department officials responsible.
“This sounds like something that would happen in Guatemala,” Penson said in an interview from his riding. “It is not something that should ever happen in Canada.”
Penson said it reflects an attitude within the Liberal government, including Agriculture Canada.
“There seems to be a bunker mentality within the department and with this minister,” said the Peace River grain farmer. “I think it is a reflection of the approach that has been taken by Ralph Goodale, a fear of criticism and opposition.”
