Manitoba court will not suspend Canada Wheat Board UPDATE 1-Manitoba court will not suspend Canada Wheat Board law
20 minutes ago by Thomson Reuters
(Adds details, judge's comment)
Feb 24 (Reuters) - A Manitoba court cleared away some of the uncertainty surrounding Western Canada's move to an open grain market on Friday, rejecting a request to suspend a federal law that ends the Canadian Wheat Board's marketing monopoly.
The court case, one of several challenges to Ottawa's decision to scrap the Wheat Board's monopoly, was launched by eight former directors of the CWB who wanted farmers to decide whether to keep the monopoly.
The directors' case, which was heard before the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, had left the grain industry uncertain about the scheduled end of the monopoly in August and whether they should sign contracts with producers.
The judge dismissed the directors' motion and said there would be no injunction to suspend the new law.
"I have concluded that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that there is a serious question to be tried," wrote Judge Shane Perlmutter in the 29-page court document.
The Canadian government passed legislation in December ending the CWB's marketing monopoly over Western Canada's wheat and barley for milling or export. Once the law passed, the government took control of the board by removing the eight farmer-elected directors.
The new law allows grain handlers, millers and farmers to sign forward-delivery contracts for 2012 crops.
A Federal Court ruled in December that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz had breached the existing law by not consulting with the Wheat Board or holding a farmer vote before introducing the legislation. Ottawa has appealed that ruling.
That ruling did not kill the bill, but the board's supporters subsequently asked the Manitoba court to strike down the law until another court could decide whether it is valid.
Canada is the top exporter of spring wheat, durum and malting barley, which fell under the CWB monopoly.
The eight directors are still challenging the validity of the new law and two other groups are launching class action suits against Ottawa to recoup damages for farmers from the monopoly's removal.
The case is Court File CI 11-01-75257 before the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, Winnipeg Centre. It is between Allen Oberg, Rod Flaman, Cam Goff, Kyle Korneychuk, John Sandborn, Bill Toews, Stewart Wells and Bill Woods; and the Attorney General of Canada. (Reporting by Rod Nickel and Julie Gordon; editing by Peter Galloway and Rob Wilson)