Canadian Wheat Board

The federal government passed legislation (Bill C-18, the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act) to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk authority effective August 1, 2012, without first holding a binding farmer vote on the proposed changes to the CWB’s single desk, which was required under the Canadian Wheat Board Act that was in effect when Bill C-18, was introduced. In October 2014 it came to public attention that the CWB was being privatized on an accelerated schedule, and that a private company, FNA, was seeking investors to fund a bid to obtain the assets. (Read the NFU’s analysis: CWB to sell itself, in secret and not necessarily to the highest bidder.) The FNA’s proposal was rejected by the CWB.

The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (which includes representation from the NFU) challenged the legality of Bill C-18 in Federal Court. In his December 9, 2011 decision, Federal Court Justice Campbell declared that the introduction of Bill C-18 under these circumstances violated the rule of law. The federal government disregarded the ruling and proceeded with the Bill, yet also appealed the ruling. The appeal was heard on May 23, 2012. On June 18, 2012 the Federal Court of Appeal overturned Justice Campbell’s decision. On July 26, 2012, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board announced they would seek leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada.On January 17, 2013 the Supreme Court announced that it would not hear the appeal.

The Friends of the CWB also went to court to get an injunction to stop the government from putting Bill C-18 into action until such time as the above Federal Court decision had exhausted the appeal process. This case was heard on December 19. Justice Perlmutter of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench denied the injunction.

The Friends of the CWB also initiated a class action lawsuit seeking to restore the Canadian Wheat Board and recover damages farmers have suffered as a result of the Federal Government’s tampering with western grain marketing. The lawsuit alleges that the Federal Government acted unlawfully by passing legislation that dismantled the Canadian Wheat Board and by denying farmers their statutory and constitutionally-protected rights. (Read the Statement of Claim.) The Federal Court ruled against the claims for expropriation, conversion, unjust enrichment, unlawful interference with economic relations and breach of trust on the grounds of having no reasonable prospect of success.

The Friends of the CWB request to appeal that decision was denied by the Supreme Court of Canada. However, 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, which is where the Friends of the CWB are focussing their efforts now. The NFU encourages people to get involved with this legal action by registering to get updates from the Friends of the CWB and by donating funds to support the action. Indicate your donation is for the CWB legal action.

The Union Farmer Quarterly article, Grains, Trains and Democracy, by Stewart Wells provides a context for, and a mid-2012 update on, the Friends of the CWB legal action.

Because of trade deals such as NAFTA, the CWB’s single desk will be difficult, but not impossible, to reinstate. The National Farmers Union says farmers, not MPs, should have decided the future of their grain marketing agency and we are working to recover the single-desk, farmer-controlled Canadian Wheat Board.

In the summer of 2011 the CWB held a plebiscite of its own to provide an opportunity for farmers to express their preference on the single desk question. Results were announced on September 12 and showed that a clear majority of farmers support the single desk.

If you would like to get email updates regarding the CWB, you can join the list-serve, Our Board, Our Business.

If you use Facebook, consider joining the pages Save the CWB and Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board. The CWB Alliance website is also a good source of information.