Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
June 18, 2007
The
Canadian Wheat Baord (CWB) will ask the courts to review the
legality of the federal government’s attempts to remove barley
from farmers’ single desk, the CWB’s farmer-controlled board of
directors announced today. The CWB’s application will be filed
immediately.
“The board has decided to take action in the interests of
farmers’ commercial and financial viability,” board chair Ken
Ritter said after CWB directors met by teleconference this
morning. “We again invite the federal government join with us so
that legal certainty may be established as soon as possible.”
Ritter noted the CWB’s core mandate is focused on farmers’
financial returns. “Market uncertainty costs farmers money. It
is therefore our obligation and our responsibility to take steps
that ensure their commercial interests are protected,” he said.
“We also need to move quickly to safeguard western Canadian
farmers’ reputation for reliability.”
The government announced on March 28 that it intended to make
regulatory amendments that would remove barley from Prairie
farmers’ single-desk marketer on August 1. The accelerated
process has created great uncertainty in the barley market,
which risks leaving many producers short of their expected
returns and liable for contract defaults – both individually and
through the CWB as their marketing agent.
“The economic consequences for farmers are significant,” Ritter
said. “We have decided to ask the courts to establish legal
certainty, after unsuccessfully appealing to the government to
address these serious commercial concerns. The sooner this is
resolved, the better it is for farmers and the entire industry.”
The CWB’s case will argue that the 1998 amendments to the
Canadian Wheat Board Act set out a clear process by which barley
could be removed from the single desk – a process which the
federal government has not followed.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest
wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada’s biggest
exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to over
70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing
costs, to farmers. |
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