Canada: The government wants to end the monopoly of the CWB on wheat and barley sales

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) launched a court challenge on Monday, December 4th against the Conservative government's order that the CWB stop spending money defending its monopoly on wheat and barley sales, according to Reuters news.

The CWB said the order, made on October 5, goes beyond the federal government's jurisdiction and contravenes Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms by infringing on freedom of expression.

The agency and the government have engaged in a public war over the CWB's marketing monopoly on wheat and barley from the Prairies to millers, maltsters and export markets.

The Conservative government, elected last January, wants to end the monopoly, but CWB leaders have said the agency cannot survive without it, and have been publicly critical of the government's process for change. The order has hampered CWB operations, Chief Executive Adrian Measner said in an affidavit.

"Staff do not know what they can or cannot say and are afraid that even the communication of factual information will be seen as a violation of the direction," Measner said in the affidavit. "Simply put, the direction has had a chilling effect on the CWB and has created uncertainty and confusion during a period when producers are faced with critical decisions relating to the future of the (monopoly,)" he said.

The CWB had revenue of C$3.7 billion ($3.2 billion) in the year ended July 31, 2005, and is one of the world's largest grain marketers.

The CWB is not a government agency, but it receives government financial guarantees on its borrowings and payments, and has its monopoly powers enshrined in federal legislation.

The United States and European Union have said the CWB's monopoly and government financial guarantees distort the international grain trade, claims that Canada has routinely dismissed.

The CWB argued the Conservative government has been unable to end the monopoly by changing the CWB legislation because of its minority status. "Instead, the government has implemented a carefully orchestrated campaign designed to impede the CWB from carrying out its statutory duties and obligations," the CWB's court application said.

The government has 10 days to respond to the application. A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl said the government was unable to comment because the matter was before the courts. "We have a review period and we'll be making the decision during that review period but, beyond that, I can't comment," said Conrad Bellehumeur.

When the government issued its October 5 order, Strahl said in a release that the CWB should spend its money on selling farmers' grain, not "attempting to undermine this government's policy objectives."

The CWB's board had initially shied away from a legal challenge of the order, but changed its mind because of the Conservatives' "public campaign of misinformation aimed at misleading farmers" about the CWB's monopoly, Measner said in his affidavit.

Last month, Strahl directed the CWB to remove from its Web site a report that described a government task force plan for the future of the CWB as "naive" and "irresponsible." But last week, the CWB told Strahl it would defy the order.

Days later, Strahl notified Measner that the government was considering ending his CEO appointment.

Ottawa appoints five members of the CWB's board of directors, including the CEO, while farmers elect the other 10.

($1=$1.14 Canadian)

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