Canada: CWB seeks judicial review to end barley market uncertainty

The 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 in a press release, June 18. 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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