Canadian Wheat Board sues Ottawa
Lawsuit attempts to halt Tories’ efforts to dismantle board
The Canadian Wheat Board is launching a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing Ottawa broke the law by neglecting to hold a plebiscite of affected farmers before tabling the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, the Toronto Star reports. In a plebiscite conducted by the board last summer, 62 per cent of 40,000 participants said they would prefer to keep the existing system. Farmers from BC to eastern Manitoba currently have to sell their wheat through the board, but the new bill would make it voluntary, so producers could market straight to processors.
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