By Curtis Galbraith

Manitoba court rules suit related to CWB sale can proceed

Dec 7, 2020 | 6:21 PM

A release from the group Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board says a court ruling in Manitoba has gone in its favour.

It says the Manitoba Court of Appeal has ruled that a legal action against the Government of Canada over the privatization of the Canadian wheat board is “valid and proper.”

“Thanks to the decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal, we can continue our legal process which calls for the repatriation of $150 million to farmers that were marketing wheat and barley through the CWB in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The legal action also calls for $10 million in punitive damages, and with interest accruing since 2012 the total number would be in the $190 million range,” says spokesman Stewart Wells, in a release from the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board.

The release goes on to say, “In their December 2, 2020 ruling, the three judges of the Manitoba Court of Appeal are unanimous that the Government of Canada must try to deliver a defence to the claim, and that the government will not simply be let off the hook for its actions.”

The suit claims that the federal government did not have the right to transfer $150 million in cash away from farmers towards what it refers to as a “sweetener” in the deal when the Board was sold. It instead calls this a gift to buyers G3 and Bunge. The Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Company Canada Limited, a company linked to the Saudi Arabian government, is the majority owner of G3.

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That release also says plaintiff Andrew Dennis from Brookdale, Manitoba has been making this argument for eight years.

The release says Dennis will now take this to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench for certification as a class action.