Constitutional and Class Action

Updates & News on farmers’ court actions to restore our Canadian Wheat Board

June 29, 2022 – Notice of Certification

→ All class members in this class action should read this Notice of Certification carefully as it may affect your rights.

April 8, 2022

Queen’s Bench Justice Martin certifies Wheat Board class action  

(Swift Current, April 8, 2022) On April 5, 2022, the Honourable Justice Martin, of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, certified a Class Action lawsuit brought by Manitoba farmer Andrew Dennis against the Government of Canada and G3 Canada Ltd.  The lawsuit alleges financial irregularities occurred during the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).

Mr. Dennis is acting as the representative plaintiff for farmers who sold wheat to the CWB’s pool accounts in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 crop years.  The Certification of the Class Action represents the Court’s authorization for Mr. Dennis to move forward with his claim on behalf of farmers.

“We will, at long last, have an opportunity to ask the Court to rule on whether the Government of Canada or Minister Ritz unlawfully manipulated CWB accounts, depriving farmers of money rightfully owing to them,” Mr. Dennis stated.

The lawsuit alleges former Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz committed misfeasance in public office by unlawfully sheltering $145,000,000 of farmer’s money into an account that could be transferred to the Wheat Board’s purchasers in connection with the Wheat Board’s 2012 privatization. The Manitoba Court of Appeal accepted in a 2020 ruling that if this money had not been sheltered by the Government, it would have been paid to farmers.  The claim also alleges that the CWB is liable to farmers by not paying them the full amount required under their contracts.

“Now that Justice Martin has directed that these questions surrounding the handling of CWB finances must be answered, farmers can expect clear answers from the upcoming court case” remarked Stewart Wells, Chair of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board. “We have maintained for over a decade that the Government of Canada and CWB took money that belonged to farmers and sold it as part of the asset base taken over by the Crown and then provided to G3 Canada Ltd. the nominal legal successor to the CWB, and owned by the multinational Bunge and the Government of Saudi Arabia.”

Anders Bruun, one of the lawyers acting on behalf of Mr. Dennis concluded by noting “We are also seeking $10,000,000 in punitive damages plus interest on the full amount claimed for this misallocation of funds. We will be providing full details of this lawsuit and how eligible wheat farmers may benefit in the near future.”

For further information:

Justice Martin’s judgment and other background regarding the class proceeding can be found here:
https://goldblattpartners.com/experience/class-action-cases/post/dennis-v-canada/

 

December 7, 2020

The Manitoba Court of Appeal unanimously gives green light to Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board to Pursue Claim against the Government of Canada            

(Swift Current, December 7, 2020) The Manitoba Court of Appeal, in a ruling issued Dec. 2, 2020, decided unanimously that a legal action against the Government of Canada for “malfeasance in public office” in relation to the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is valid and proper. Stewart Wells, Chair of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB), stated, “This legal action can now proceed. The alleged offenses occurred during the Harper administration when Gerry Ritz was the Minister of Agriculture and their government was destroying the CWB.”

“Thanks to the decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, we can continue our legal process which calls for the repatriation of $150 million to farmers that were marketing wheat and barley through the CWB in 2010/11 and 2011/12.  The legal action also calls for $10 million in punitive damages, and with interest accruing since 2012 the total number would be in the $190 million range” Wells added.

In their December 2, 2020 ruling, the three judges of the Manitoba Court of Appeal are unanimous that the Government of Canada must try to deliver a defence to the claim, and that the government will not simply be let off the hook for its actions.

The ruling is crystal clear in asserting that “The claim discloses a cause of action, and it cannot be said in the context of the law and the litigation process that the claim has no reasonable chance of succeeding.”

For the last 8 years, Class Plaintiff Andrew Dennis of Brookdale, Mb., supported by the FCWB, has argued in Court that the Harper government did not have the right to transfer approximately $150 million in cash assets away from farmers and instead direct that money towards the payment of restructuring costs and the government of Saudi Arabia and the grain company Bunge.

The FCWB believes this seizure amounted to a “sweetener” added to the gift of CWB assets that was made to G3 Limited which is owned by the government of Saudi Arabia and the grain company Bunge.  Bunge has since sold its shares to the government Saudi Arabia which now owns most of G3.

“Mr. Dennis will now be petitioning the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench for certification as a Class Action and we will be continuing our fight for justice for prairie grain farmers,” concluded Wells.

Background

In 2011 the Harper government forced legislation through Parliament that dismantled the CWB and caused the largest transfer of wealth away from farmers and into the pockets of the grain trade in the history of Canada.  This governmental steamrolling was completed in just 43 business days without public hearings and without scrutiny by even the House of Commons Standing Committee of Agriculture.  Later the Harper government gave the farmer-paid assets and ongoing business to a group called G3 which was owned by the government of Saudi Arabia and the grain company Bunge.

An annotated version of the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruling can be downloaded at:

http://www.cwbafacts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dennis-v-AG-of-Cdn-Annotated.pdf

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May 29, 2019

Farmers in court demanding answers from Ottawa about Wheat Board

(Swift Current, May 29, 2019)  Farmers, supported by the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, were back in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Manitoba yesterday.

Stewart Wells, chairperson of the Friends of the Canadians Wheat Board explained:  “The Harper government did not treat farmers fairly when it dismantled the CWB in 2012.  We contend their irresponsible actions resulted in over $150 million being withheld from farmers in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 crop years.”

“The problem has now been compounded by the Liberal government’s failure to act responsibly and so the issue is still working its way through the Court” Wells said.

The hearing on May 28 was a re-run of a motion that the government lost almost exactly a year ago.  “This hearing is another in a series of technical appeals by Ottawa to delay justice and frustrate prairie farmers’ efforts to hold them to account for their stewardship of farmers’ money held by the CWB” observed Wells.

Winnipeg lawyer Anders Bruun, together with Toronto based lawyers Louis Century, and Jordan Goldblatt who specialize in civil litigation and class proceedings are representing plaintiff Andrew Dennis, a Brookdale, Manitoba farmer.  Mr. Dennis stated “we hope a favourable ruling will clear the way to the next step which is a hearing to have the action certified as a class action with myself as representative plaintiff.”
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May 31, 2018

Court rules Ottawa must answer for Harper actions on CWB

(May 31, 2018, Swift Current, Sk.)  The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench has ruled Ottawa must answer for the Harper administration’s actions against the farmers who participated in the farmer-controlled Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).

In a written ruling released May 28, 2018, Master Berthaudin ruled against the government’s attempt to walk away from a putative class action which claims more than $145 million in damages are owed to the farmers of western Canada along with $10 million dollars in punitive damages.

“This ruling puts the government’s shirt in the wringer,” said Stewart Wells, Chair of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB).

“In the proposed class action farmers contend the former Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, deprived farmers of monies they should have received from the 2010 and 2011 crop years.  Instead of paying farmers, we believe this money was used to sweeten the pot for whoever was going to acquire the Wheat Board” Wells explained.

The government of Saudi Arabia and the multinational grain company Bunge ultimately acquired the Wheat Board from the Government of Canada, and created G3 Global Grain Group to assume the assets of the former CWB in 2015.

Anders Bruun, a Winnipeg lawyer noted: “the CWB’s annual reports for those crop years issued after the farmer elected directors were dismissed show that farmers were short changed by over $140 million even though the CWB Act required that money to be paid to farmers as part of their final payments for those crop years.”

Bruun is representing the class’ proposed representative plaintiff, Brookdale, Manitoba farmer Andrew Dennis, together with Jordan Goldblatt and Louis Century who are Toronto based lawyers specializing in civil litigation and class proceedings.

With this week’s ruling, the Court clears the way to the next step which is a hearing to have the action certified as a class action, with Mr. Dennis as representative plaintiff.

The action was commenced in 2012 with the support of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board on behalf of all prairie wheat and barley farmers.
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April 24, 2017

Class Action moves to Manitoba Courts

(April 24, 2017, Brookdale, Manitoba)  Andrew Dennis, a Brookdale, Manitoba grain producer has filed a Statement of Claim seeking certification of a class action  on behalf of all farmers who delivered wheat and barley to the Canadian Wheat Board during the 2010/2011 and 2011/12 crop years.

Filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench for Manitoba in Winnipeg, the Statement of Claim names the Government of Canada, G3 Global Grain Group and G3 Limited as Defendants.  G3 is the private entity which acquired the CWB following a July 31, 2015, transaction.

“When we were reviewing the CWB’s Annual Reports for 2010/11 and 2011/12, it appeared that $145 million, which should have been paid to farmers as part of their final payment, had been withheld and transferred to the CWB’s Contingency Fund” stated Mr. Dennis.

Stewart Wells, a farmer from Swift Current, Saskatchewan and chairperson of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board noted, “This claim is about establishing accountability for the disposition of the Canadian Wheat Board, allocating financial responsibility to the appropriate parties, and ultimately getting any funds recovered back to prairie farmers.”

Anders Bruun, one of the lead lawyers for the plaintiff went on to note that “Some restructuring expenses were paid from the pooling accounts, but the Contingency Fund appears to be the largest single source of apparently misappropriated funds.”

Mr. Dennis previously asserted a claim against the Government and the Wheat Board in the Federal Court.  On May 15, 2017, counsel for Mr. Dennis will be seeking leave to discontinue the Federal Court proceeding in favour of the Manitoba Court Class Action.

Mr. Bruun is representing the lead plaintiff together with Steven Shrybman of Goldblatt Partners, a Toronto and Ottawa law firm specializing in class actions and Jordan Goldblatt of Adair Barristers, Toronto which also has substantial class action litigation experience.

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The statement of claim may be downloaded here:  http://www.cwbafacts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SOC-Manitoba-Apr-24-2017.pdf

 – October 9, 2015 –

Farmers demand accountability on Wheat Board

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, October 9, 2015)  Four farmer plaintiffs representing western grain farmers and their counsel are now in the process of responding to the Federal Court’s timetable outlining the procedure in the class action launched on behalf of Prairie grain producers following Ottawa’s seizure and dismantling of the farmer-owned Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) in Dec. 2011. The seizure of the farmer-run CWB was done without the farmer vote enshrined in the law at the time and without a farmer vote promised by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz during the last Federal election in 2011.

To make matters worse, for the first time in 79 years the Minister of Agriculture decided to withhold the financial results of the CWB for the 2012/13 crop year making it impossible to follow the money as the CWB was transformed from a farmer-run and accountable organization to another foreign-owned and secretive margin trader run by the Harper government. “Harper and Ritz made specific decisions which negatively impacted farmers, and they must be held accountable for those decisions.” observed Wells.

Anders Bruun, co-counsel for the plaintiffs noted “The CWB Act makes it clear that only the actual costs of the CWB’s operations to sell a crop can be deducted from the money to be paid to farmers for that crop.”

The farmer-plaintiffs expect this process will also bring transparency to the secret process which saw millions of dollars of farmers’ assets, along with an undetermined amount of tax-payer money, transferred to a Saudi Arabian government-operated holding company on the promise of future investments being made in the hard assets owned, purchased, and constructed by the Canadian Wheat Board while it was under the direction of the Minister’s office and his appointees.

“We also expect these revelations will give further context to the just published findings of University of Saskatchewan Agricultural Economist Rich Gray (http://ow.ly/Tdnce) which show that farmers have received $7 Billion less than the fair market value for their grain since the CWB was removed from transportation and logistics oversight.” said Wells.

At least one federal candidate has called for an independent audit of the dismantling of the CWB. The lack of farmer oversight at the Board table, together with the Minister’s cover-up of CWB finances makes it imperative that the class action move ahead in order to determine what really happened to the money farmers should have earned from their grain sales in 2011/12.  Given the substantial amount of taxpayer money involved we will also be asking the Auditor General of Canada to conduct an investigation” concluded Wells.

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 – July 13, 2015 –

Farmers Move Ahead With Wheat Board Class Action

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, July 13, 2015) Four western Canadian farmers have served their amended statement of claim in the Federal Court of Canada alleging Ottawa shortchanged farmers by approximately 720 million dollars of farmers’ money from the operations of the Canadian Wheat Board in 2011/12 when the government was dismantling the marketing organization. The statement was served Friday, July 10 in Ottawa.

Speaking from his farm near Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Stewart Wells, a former farmer-elected Director of the CWB, and now chair of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, said that the percentage of CWB revenue allocated by the Ottawa appointed Board of Directors during the 2011/12 crop year to farmers was “substantially out of line” with previous years of CWB operations.

“The audited financial statements of the Canadian Wheat Board show that when the elected farmers were running the CWB almost 93% of sales revenue was returned to farmers between 1998 and the 2010/11,” Wells said. “There is no justification for the government-run CWB to return just 83% of sales revenue to farmers in 2011/12. The difference between 93% and 83% is in the order of $720 million. It should be noted that 2011/12 sales recorded the third highest revenue since farmers were put in charge of the Board in 1998” said Wells.

Also, for the first time in 79 years the Minister of Agriculture decided to withhold the financial results of the CWB for the 2012/13 crop year making it impossible to follow the money as the CWB was transformed from a farmer-run and accountable organization to another foreign-owned and secretive margin trader.

“The costs of restructuring the CWB” Wells noted, “were new liabilities created by the government, and the government announced that $349 million of taxpayer monies were to be set aside to be used to cover these costs. However, it appears that while the majority of restructuring costs were already met by 2012, the government-run CWB decided not to use all of the taxpayer money in 2011/12 in favour of accessing those funds in subsequent years. In fact it appears that the government-run CWB even used money from pooling accounts to cover some of the restructuring costs.”

Anders Bruun, counsel for the Friends noted “The CWB Act makes it clear that only the actual costs of the CWB’s operations to sell a crop can be deducted from the money to be paid to farmers for that crop. We are concerned that the CWBs expenses more than doubled for the 2011/12 crop year after the farmer directors were removed on Dec. 15, 2011.”

“The lack of farmer oversight at the Board table, together with the Minister’s cover-up of CWB finances makes it imperative that the class action move ahead in order to determine what really happened to the money farmers should have earned from their grain sales in 2011/12. Given the substantial amount of taxpayer money involved we will also be asking the Auditor General of Canada to conduct an investigation” concluded Wells.
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MEDIA: Transcript of CBC Manitoba Radio Noon interview with Anders Bruun
              Manitoba Cooperator:  FCWB amends lawsuit – Here’s an explanation

– April 9, 2015 –

Farmers Disappointed by Supreme Court Refusal to Hear Case 

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, April 9, 2015)  The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear the appeal filed by farmers concerning a Class Action lawsuit stemming from the Harper Government’s dismantling of the single-desk Canadian Wheat Board.

The legal action was started to hold the Harper government accountable for its decision to unilaterally end the CWB’s marketing advantages and seize the farmer-paid assets, and the farmer-plaintiffs have expressed disappointment in the court’s decision. Stewart Wells, spokesperson for the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) commented “Since 2006, the legal efforts of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board have resulted in over 631 million dollars in extra returns to farmers. However, we are naturally disappointed that Canada’s legal system has been unable to fully hold the Federal government accountable for the confiscation and destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) in 2011. The legal system has quite simply not been able to afford justice to western Canadian farmers so far.”

Wells explained that this part of the Class Action was uniquely important not only to western grain farmers but also to the interests of Canadian society and business in general and it deserved the consideration of the Supreme Court of Canada. “Unfortunately,” Wells said, “we have a double standard now condoned by the Supreme Court of Canada – workers and their unions have a right to collective bargaining and to enjoy the benefits that flow from that, but farmers have no right to keep the results of their own efforts at collective bargaining and the collective ownership of real property which the single-desk Canadian Wheat Board represented.”

Wells went on to observe, “The changes made to grain marketing by the Conservative government have resulted in the largest transfer of money away from farmers in the history of Canada. Over the past three years farmer losses from the federal government decision have exceeded the expectations of even strong board supporters.”

In 2013/14 losses to farmers were estimated at 4 to 5 billion dollars due to the government’s highly dysfunctional marketing system. In 2014-15 alone, the spread between port prices and farm gate prices increased causing losses estimated at 3 billion dollars.  Those price spreads have not returned to competitive levels so farmer losses continue to mount.

“With the single-desk Wheat Board farmers retained the beneficial ownership of their grain from the farm gate to the end-use customer and the Board was able to add value at each step of the way and then return that extra money to farmers.  The quality and price discrimination advantage which was estimated at three quarters of a billion dollars annually was also likely significantly underestimated as customers are now complaining about Canadian quality and Canadian grain is reported to be lowest price on some international tenders. The dozens of grain ships waiting in Vancouver are only the most visible symptom of this mess.  We have to recognize that Canada’s position in the international grain trade has now been severely damaged by Ottawa’s ideologically-based exercise in grain marketing and quality control” added Wells.

To add insult to injury, the Wheat Board assets, which were paid for by farmers and seized by the Conservative government, may be given away to private interests as the government moves to dispossess farmers of the last elements of the organization which benefitted prairie farmers for almost a century.

“However,” Wells concluded, “the Courts have given farmers a green light to proceed with the parts of the class action case based on the misallocation of CWB Pool account funds in 2011/12 and we will be turning our attention to those details in the coming weeks.”

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Background notes

The farmer-plaintiffs in this case were Andrew Dennis (Manitoba), Ian McCeary (Saskatchewan), Nathan Macklin (Alberta), and Harold Bell (British Columbia).  They represented the majority western farmers, which supported the single desk marketing advantages of the CWB.  Those same farmers predicted the declining share of export grain sales and other problems which have cost farmers billions of dollars since 2011.  The following facts are not in dispute:

1. Since 2011, some Canadian grain prices have actually undercut world prices—“Canadian wheat lowest in Iraq tender”—Manitoba Cooperator, November 3, 2014.

2. The Canadian government has refused to divulge voluntary CWB handlings putting the lie to the “strong and viable” rhetoric—“Show us the audited statement Mr. Ritz!”—The Western Producer November 12, 2014.

3. Canada’s reputation has been suffering –“High standards suffering—A foreign grain buyer lists problems with underweight shipments, uneven protein”—The Western Producer Nov. 6, 2014”
4. Government has to direct rail traffic—Conservative government directs grain logistics by Order-in-Council

5. Farmers losing billions—“World prices have improved since October, but producer returns are down”—Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission.

6. “International buyers say Canada’s reputation as a high-quality provider of top protein wheat is in jeopardy”—The Western Producer March 26, 2015.  Government “farm-group cheerleaders” and industry captured organizations like Cereals Canada are not able to provide the leadership required, causing 30 year sellers of Canadian wheat to say “OK, don’t bother me anymore with your crappy wheat.”

7. The Federal government intends to give away the current CWB’s assets—assets paid for by farmers—to an existing grain company.

– December 16, 2014 –

Farmers file Wheat Board case with Supreme Court

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, December 16, 2014) Yesterday counsel for the farmer Plaintiffs in the Class Action lawsuit stemming from the Harper Government’s dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board filed documents seeking leave to have several key issues of the case considered by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Steven Shrybman of Sack, Goldblatt, and Mitchell of Toronto, co-counsel for the Plaintiffs remarked “this Class Action addresses some fundamental issues surrounding the right of people to democratically choose to work together and to build and hold assets collectively. Our clients feel this aspect of the Class Action is uniquely important not only to western grain farmers, but also to the interests of Canadian society and business in general, and deserves the consideration of the Supreme Court of Canada.”

Anders Bruun, a Winnipeg lawyer and co-counsel for the Plaintiffs stated “The recent Federal Court of Appeal ruling gave a green light for the Class Action to proceed with the parts of the case based on the misallocation of CWB Pool account funds in 2011/12. This part of the Class Action will be going forward regardless of the results of this leave to appeal application.”

Stewart Wells, Chairperson of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, said “There are three levels of loss – the values of the ongoing business, the hard assets including the contingency fund, and the misallocation of funds during the transition.  Together these represent about a $17 billion loss to western Canadian farmers. The fact that farmers have lost $5 billion over the last 2 years that they would have received had the Wheat Board been in place proves the true value of the Wheat Board.”

“Clearly we believe the brand and the good name of the farmer-owned Wheat Board is also a form of property built and paid for by farmers, and this appeal will allow the Court to address this very substantial loss” explained Wells.

He went on to say, “I’m glad the plaintiffs have elected to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to address the inconsistency in lower court rulings holding that farmers have a right to advance a claim for pool account monies yet do not have a right to the property bought and paid for with those pool account monies.”

Wells concluded “the seizure of their CWB assets and Ottawa’s claim farmers have no right to them has galvanized the farm community to lay claim to all the Wheat Board assets farmers bought and paid for, not just the cash remaining in the Pool account.”
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– November 4, 2014 –

Farmers to move forward with Wheat Board case

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, November 4, 2014) The farmers in the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) class action are pleased the courts have given the green light to proceed with parts of the case based on the misallocation of CWB Pool account funds in 2011/12. However, the farmers have chosen to seek leave to appeal this limited decision to the Supreme Court of Canada since the ruling does not properly address the fundamental injustice of Ottawa seizing and disposing of other valuable CWB assets paid for by farmers.

Stewart Wells, chairperson of the FCWB, said “most farmers understand their CWB assets have been stolen from them by Ottawa. The startling revelation from a private banker that the intention of the Federal government is to effectively gift the CWB assets to a private company at no charge has further galvanized the farm community to lay claim to all the Wheat Board assets farmers bought and paid for, not just the cash remaining in the Pool account.”

Wells concluded by saying “I’m glad the plaintiffs have elected to give the Supreme Court an opportunity to address the glaring inconsistency in lower court rulings that farmers have a right to pool account monies yet do not have a right to the property bought and paid for with those pool account monies.”

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– October 17, 2014 –

Federal Court of Appeal gives farmers green light to move forward with Wheat Board case

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, October 17, 2014) Although the Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling allowing four farmer plaintiffs and the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) to move forward on a class action based on the misallocation of CWB Pool account funds in 2011/12, the farmers feel the ruling was too narrow and does not address the fundamental injustice of the Harper government selling other valuable CWB assets paid for by farmers.

“Wednesday’s court ruling rejected the government’s courtroom nonsense that farmers were not entitled to money which should have been held in the pooling accounts,” said Andrew Dennis, a Manitoba farmer and one of the plaintiffs, “and this means our farmer-led class action can‎ proceed. It is our view that farmers did not receive all of the monies properly owed to them from the 2011/12 crop year, and we will have to again use the court to fight for that money.”

“However,” added Stewart Wells, chairperson of the FCWB, “this ruling also continues the glaring inconsistency that although the courts have recognized that farmers have a right to the pool account monies, they have not recognized that farmers have a wider and deeper interest in recovering the full value of the CWB and CWB assets which they paid for.”

Wells observed “the judges took a very narrow view of property rights and ignored the historical partnership between government and western farmers beginning in 1935 with the creation of the Wheat Board and its further democratization in 1998 which saw a farmer-elected Board of Directors take responsibility.”

“Farmers know who paid for the assets taken by Ottawa and now held by Ottawa’s CWB, and after the marketing fiasco of 2012/13 an even larger majority of farmers understand the collective bargaining power they had with the single-desk was worth much more than the $17 billion estimated in our original class action. It is not right for Ottawa to confiscate and sell assets that farmers have built and paid for over the decades and it is not appropriate for Ottawa to offer these assets to private corporations behind closed doors” Wells said.

Wells concluded “the four farmer plaintiffs will now have to study the ruling and decide on next steps—steps which could include moving ahead with a class action fighting for the repatriation of more millions of dollars of farmer money, or seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.”

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– June 18, 2014

An open letter to the Minister of Agriculture

Original sent by fax:  June 18, 2014

Re: Statutory requirement to table audited statement for the operations of the Canadian Wheat Board

Dear Minister Ritz:

As you know the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board have a class action law suit pending before the Federal Court of Appeal.

Since 2011 there have been substantial and material changes in the western Canadian grain sector including changes in the allocation of export grain revenues from farmers to the private grain trade.  The single desk selling advantages of the pre-2011 Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) meant that farmers received more than 80% of the revenues from grain sales.  As a direct result of your changes in 2011 farmers have recently been receiving less than 50% of the sales revenue.  The loss of market premiums, plus the lower share to farmers combined with uncoordinated sales and logistics means that your changes to the CWB have cost farmers billions of dollars since 2011.

Since Canadian taxpayers are still underwriting the CWB operations, and since all western wheat and barley farmers contributed to building the assets used to operate the CWB in 2012/13, it would be appropriate for you to follow the law and table the year-end audited financial statement of the CWB.

This letter is to demand that you fulfill your statutory responsibility as set out in Section 21 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act to table such a report covering the 2012/13 crop year, which, according to the law, should have been done no later than April 15, 2014.

We would also directly ask you supply the following information:

1. Were you supplied with an Audited Statement from the CWB on or before March 31, 2014 as required in the Act?  If not, why not, and
2. If you were supplied with an Audited Statement from the CWB no later than March 31, did you table the report?  If not, why not?

Sincerely,

Copy:  original signed by:

Stewart Wells,
Chair, Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board

 

– February 19, 2014

– January 10, 2014

Farmers ill-served – Leader~Post
“Perhaps with all the scandals and cover-ups in Ottawa, the Harper government has lost track of what is right and what is wrong. But farmers haven’t. The legislated theft without compensation of hundreds of millions of dollars of farmerpaid wheat board assets is wrong. Period.”

– January 8, 2014

Farmers move ahead with Wheat Board class action

(Swift Current, Saskatchewan, January 2, 2014)  Stewart Wells, chairperson of The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board announced that farmer litigants, with the full support of the group, have filed an appeal of a November 29, 2013 Federal Court ruling by Madam Justice Tremblay-Lamer.

Wells said “We believe Justice Tremblay-Lamer made errors of fact in her judgment and our supporters feel that it is imperative that we continue with our legal efforts to recover the $17 billion dollars of value and assets farmers put into the Wheat Board.”

Wells went on to point out “It was fifty years ago this past month the Canadian Wheat Board, in consultation with its farmer advisory committee moved into a downtown Winnipeg office building bought and paid for with farmers’ money, and no amount of legal sophistry or rationalization can change the fact farmers are owed compensation for what amounts to an unprecedented theft of private resources by Ottawa.”

Wells concluded by saying:  “Farmers know who built and paid for Canadian Wheat Board assets and farmers have a legitimate expectation of compensation from the federal government.”

Nathan Macklin, one of the farmer plaintiffs from Alberta said “if Ottawa did this to a multinational corporation they would be forced by NAFTA and our other trade obligations to provide compensation.  Allowing this essentially makes farmers, and all Canadians, second class citizens in our own country.”

Anders Bruun, legal counsel for the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, stated “this appeal moves forward the legal action on the seizure of the Wheat Board’s assets and reputation from farmers by the Federal government and shows the resolve of my clients to keep fighting against the expropriation without compensation that the government has visited on farmers.”

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news report here:  Friends of CWB appeals decision in damages lawsuit

 

– October 23, 2013

Justice considers class action

(Ottawa – October 23, 2013) After a four hour hearing before the Federal Court, Justice Danièle Tremblay-Lamer has reserved her decision on whether all aspects of the 17 billion dollar class action claim are allowed to proceed; some aspects are allowed to proceed, or nothing is allowed to proceed. Any of these outcomes may lead to an appeal by either side.

– October 4, 2013

Friends of CWB argue fairness and property rights before Federal Court

(Ottawa – October 4, 2013)  Last week the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board legal team, representing farmer plaintiffs from across the west, filed a legal brief with the Federal Court of Canada in connection with their class action law suit to seek $17 billion in compensation from Ottawa for ending the farmer owned single desk Canadian Wheat Board.

The legal brief has been filed in response to the Federal government’s contention grain producers have no interest in the assets and goodwill of the CWB and the Federal Court should therefore dismiss the farmers’ Class Action.  The Federal Court will hold a hearing on this matter in Ottawa on October 23, 2013.

One of the Friends’ attorneys Anders Bruun summarized the farmers’ response by saying “the key concept here is fairness.  Producers paid to build up the CWB and never got anything when government tore it down.”

Stewart Wells, the organization’s chairperson and a former farmer-elected Director of the Canadian Wheat Board went on to observe “the Federal government is taking a very narrow and self-serving view of property rights.  Our position is all the property of the Canadian Wheat Board was built by farmers and part of that value is the reputation for honesty and quality which our Board developed.”

Bruun concluded by saying “This case raises fundamental questions about the nature and extent of collective property rights in organizations enabled by government but in this case, built by and for producers. It will require the Court to consider the inherent characteristics of property and address the central question of whether it is fair for government to take something that others have created, without compensating them.”

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– June 3, 2013

The Class Action law suit to recover the value of the Canadian Wheat Board for the farmers of western Canada is in process.

On August 16, 2013 the Federal Government must file its arguments as to why they should be allowed to take, without compensation, the value of our farmer controlled single desk.

On September 27, 2013 the legal team representing western grain farmers will file our response.

The Federal Court will hold a special hearing October 23, 2013 in Ottawa to determine if the class action is dismissed or can go ahead.

– January 17, 2013

Supreme Court ruling will not stop class action to restore Wheat Board – Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board

(Regina January 17, 2013)  “We do not believe that the Supreme Court ruling declining to consider the issues raised by the Campbell decision regarding the rights of farmers to have a vote on the disposition of our Canadian Wheat Board has a direct effect on our class action law suit to either restore the CWB or obtain over $17 billion in damages from Ottawa for the loss of single desk marketing” remarked Stewart Wells, chairperson of the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board.

“The class action is based on several legal principles which were not before the Supreme Court and as a result the class action is not affected by today’s ruling. While wheat and barley prices have been exceptionally good due to severe droughts in most of the worlds grain growing regions, the fact remains that producers have lost the premiums on high protein wheat and malt barley which the CWB was able to obtain for the benefit of farmers” Wells added.

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– November 20, 2012

There are now two parallel actions:  One involves the follow up to the Campbell decision that Ottawa acted illegally by ignoring our right to vote on changes to the CWB.  The second is a Class Action to restore the CWB or seek $17 billion in damages for farmers as a result of the loss of the CWB.

Here is the chronology of the court cases to date:

1.  In response to a case launched by the Friends of the CWB and the former farmer-elected CWB Directors,   Federal Justice Campbell ruled on December 7 of 2011 the legislation ending the CWB was introduced illegally.  Ottawa ignored the court and passed legislation ending the Canadian Wheat Board as of August 1, 2012.

2. In February of 2012 Friends of the CWB launched a Class Action law suit to restore our Wheat Board or obtain $17 billion in damages for farmers.  The Federal Court has appointed a case manager for this action.  The first step would be a decision to either allow the case to go forward (“certification”) or denial.

3.  On June 18, 2012 the Federal Court of Appeal set aside the Campbell ruling.  Then the Federal government made a motion to dismiss our Class Action case.

4.  In September 2012 Friends of the CWB filed a leave to appeal to the Supreme Court about the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision setting aside the Campbell ruling.

 5.  By mutual consent, the Class Action has been placed on hold pending the outcome of whether the Supreme Court decides to hear our appeal of the Campbell/ Federal Court of Appeal decision.  We anticipate this decision sometime in the first quarter of 2013.  The results of the Campbell appeal may have implications for how we conduct the Class Action, hence the suspension of that process.

6.  As soon as the results of the Campbell process are clear, the Friends anticipate restarting the Class Action process.

The CWBA also continues to raise money for the court cases to restore our Wheat Board. 

You can still make donations towards the legal costs involved here: CWB Alliance.  Or here: Friends of CWB

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STOP HARPER
Support the FIGHT to save the Canadian Wheat Board

 The Canadian Wheat Board has been an icon of organized social democracy in action.  It has been a national institution with countless benefits for Canadian farmers and consumers.  The kicker: It hasn’t cost consumers 1 penny to run.

BUT NOW ….

 The Harper Government has wrecked the Canadian Wheat Board and stripped farmers of their right to vote in defiance of a Federal Court ruling that the legislation is illegal.  A government ignoring a Federal Court ruling should concern ALL CANADIANS.

On Dec. 15, 2011, the Harper government passed Bill C-18 even though the court ruled that its introduction to Parliament was illegal.  Once that occurred, the farmer-elected Board of Directors was dismissed after Ag Minister Gerry Ritz illegally took control of our CWB by appointing his own 5 puppet directors.

The new CWB is NOT FARMER RUN, it doesn’t hold SINGLE DESK marketing power and on Aug. 1, 2012, it will be a useless marketing company with no grain elevators or product control.

THE GOOD NEWS: Farmers are fighting back.  We have launched 3 Court Cases to force Ottawa to obey the law, give farmers back their right to vote, and restore OUR Canadian Wheat Board.  Two are in the appeal stage and the most recent is a multiple stage class action – a constitutional argument for ‘freedom of association’ to get the CWB back and then compensation for damages.

TOGETHER WE WILL WIN!

 Here are just a few reasons why we are asking Canadians for their voices and support:

1)   DEMOCRACY – Harper is taking away farmers’ freedom to choose the fate of OUR Wheat Board.  ANY Canadian organization which believes in democratic principles should be deeply concerned.  The outcome of our lawsuits will affect all Canadians.

2)   CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY – Don’t let foreign interests run our food system.

3)   SUPPLY MANAGEMENT – If the government succeeds with the Wheat Board, our Canadian milk, cheese, chicken, and turkeys are next (PDF).

4)   GMO WHEAT – In 2004 western farmers and their Canadian Wheat Board played a key role in stopping the introduction of genetically modified wheat into the market place.  Most consumers DON’T WANT IT, but without the CWB, farmers are powerless to stop it.

5)   QUALITY LOCAL FOOD – The CWB has worked hard to keep quality grain by Canadian farmers in Canada.  Under Bill C-18 grain quality will not be a priority.  The government has started the move to harmonize our grain grades with the lower quality standards in the US.

6)   BLATANTLY ILLEGAL – On Dec.7, 2011, a Federal Court Judge ruled Harper’s Wheat Board legislation violates the rule of law.

7)   FAMILY FARMS – The single desk CWB provides equitable access to the market for all farmers, big or small.  Losing the CWB accelerates the loss of family farms (PDF).   In so doing, it will concentrate farmland ownership in fewer and fewer hands.  A blow to the CWB is a blow to family-farm agriculture.

8)  STAND UP AGAINST BULLYING – Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz has misled Canadians and bullied farmers in order to pass Bill C-18.  This is all part of a pattern of disrespect for democracy on the part of the Harper government.  Our campaign is transparent with Canadians because we believe facts should trump propaganda.  What are Stephen Harper and Gerry Ritz hiding? 

More great info can be found on these sites: friendsofcwb.ca and cwbafacts.ca

 DONATE

 Farmers across the prairies are already pledging their support.  You can help Stop the Steamroller by making a donation to the legal fund at any of these grass roots organizations:

Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, Box 41, Brookdale, MB, ROK 0G0
Credit Card by phone: 204-354-2254.
Online: http://friendsofcwb.ca/donate

The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance, Box 125, Hussar, AB T0J 1S0
http://www.cwbafacts.ca/donate/ 

National Farmers Union – Secure credit card option at http://nfu.ca/store/donation.html

LEND YOUR VOICE NOW:

Share this information on Facebook.  Tweet this to your friends.  Pass around this information.  The more education we put into the public eye, the more chance we have of restoring a vibrant rural Canadian farm economy.

 

———- WHY FARMERS SHOULD REGISTER FOR THE CLASS ACTION ———-

Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board
Canadian Wheat Board Constitutional and Class Action Suit
launched February 15, 2012
www.cwbclassaction.ca
The Leave No Farmer Behind Legal Action

 You should register to support this critical court case because:

 

• Its first goal is to re-establish the single desk of the Canadian Wheat Board which farmers voted to keep in the 2011 plebiscite

• Its second goal is to re-establish  democratic farmer control of our Wheat Board

• Its third goal is to obtain compensation of up to $17 billion dollars for damages that farmers have already suffered and may be expected to suffer in the future

• Your Wheat Board has been changed without your consent

• Your right to vote on changes to your Wheat Board has been taken away

• Your elected representatives on the Wheat Board have been dismissed and replaced with government appointees without your consent

• Your right to work effectively with your neighbours and gain strength in numbers has been taken away

• The assets of your wheat board, including hard assets valued at hundreds of $millions, and the Canadian brand which is worth $billions in premiums that farmers will no longer earn have been seized without compensation

•  Registration does not create any obligation on you – register at cwbclassaction.ca

“Rejecting this legislation is about more than the Canadian Wheat Board, it is about due process and the rule of law itself and that affects everyone in Canada.”
– Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board legal co-counsel Anders Bruun

Please consider making a financial contribution to this legal action
It may be the best investment your farm ever makes!

Donate by cheque payable to either:
Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board
Box 41, Brookdale, MB, ROK 0G0,
or
Canadian Wheat Board Alliance
Box 125, Hussar, AB, T0J 1S0

Donate directly by using the Friends’ credit card facility at 204-354-2254

Donate online using PayPal:
Friends of CWB
or
CWB Alliance