From a Statement of Claim filed yesterday in Federal Court against the Attorney General of Canada, alleging malicious prosecution of 15 farmers who were charged (in March 1996 and several occasions after) for exporting wheat or barley to the USA without a Canadian Wheat Board LIcense;
The Plaintiff Ralph Goodale in his capacity as Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board knew full well that the Plaintiffs were charged with offenses not known to law and did in May of 1996 obtain Royal Assent for an Order in Coucil that would serve to close the loop hole in the law under which the Plaintiffs had been wrongly charged.
The Plaintiffs claim possession of documents of a meeting held on the 23rd day of June, 1997 at the Connault Building in Ottawa attended by several Wheat Board Officials and Several Customs Officials that clearly reveals the defendants and their officials knew full well that the requirement to report in writing to the Chief Officer of Customs was not a legal requirement and in accordance with the law.
The Plaintiffs further claim that Lorne Hehn in his capacity as Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Wheat Board did publicly report in the Western Producer of February 10th, 1994 that the Canadian Wheat Board is helpless to stop what industry sources say is an increasing number of exports of wheat and barley into the USA and the Board can no longer enforce a provision of the Canadian Wheat Board Act requiring exporters of prairie grain to get a permit from the board. He stated further that the Canadian Wheat Board does not have a vehicle to properly enforce that law.
The Plaintiffs claim that the defendants devised an illegal strategy to obtain the assistance of David Anderson in his capacity as Minister responsible for the Canada Customs in an attempt to use the Customs Officials to use In House Directives that did not have the force of law to intimidate and abuse the rights of the Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs are seeking $2 million each in damages.
OUCH! I wonder when it will hit the news???
GREAT to HEAR! I wish them all the luck and success! For far too long, this blatant government injustice has been unanswered and the general public has no real idea what all went on. This was the ultimate in state control which has been a plague on our society.
Without the Canadian Wheat Board Western Farmers could sell their own product.
Western Canadians Could sell their wheat to Americans.
Americans like George Bush, who would give the wheat to Soldiers in Iraq.
Soldiers, with guns, in Iraq eating Western Canadian Wheat.
We’re not making this stuff up.
Dirty Westerners complaining about being under the thumb of the benevolent eastern government.
think of all the snivel servants that depend on selling only that western wheat at depressed prices.
FREE THE WEST ,THE WEST WANTS OUT
Very Interesting!!!
Good luck to them!
Will enjoy watching their lawyers show how much contempt this Liberal government had for Western farmers who dared to expect equal treatment, in law, with other Canadian producers.
hmm,, liberals still backing Oliver in BC,, that isnt what Paul told us
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Election/2006/01/18/1399442-sun.html
I hope the farmers are awarded the sum total of Goodale’s assets and savings, he deserves to be financially ruined after what he did with the Income Trust Scandal. After all, he is a member of that criminally organized political party I like to call the Lie-beral’s.
Is this all going to be paid for by taxpayers money? First screw the farmers then the taxpayers? D.Jensen
Mansbridge and Happy Jack on CBC last night:
(I’m paraphrasing, it went something like this)
Mansbridge: We now go to Winnipeg for a question from a viewer.
Viewer:
Given that The Gomery Inquiry has stated that Paul Martin was no way involved in the sponsorship scandal and that and the stock market fluctuations of Income Trusts were due to normal stack market activity and not due to any leak by Goodale, do you think that this type of negative campaigning will hurt Canadians interest in the election?
Neither of these preposterous statements were challenged by either, Mansbridge or Happy Jack.
Just left to drift happily into the one eared viewers RAM.
Imagine the audacity of these western peaseants thinking they should enjoy the same rights, freedoms, privledge and cake that eastern farmers were born into. Farmers like 80 some year old Stu Scott from Radville, Sask. who, when he left his farm in the 1940’s to fight for freedom in Europe, had the right to sell his grain and when he returned, after serving his country, had lost it. Or what about Andy McMechen from Lyleton, Manitoba who spent 155 days in jail for selling his grain while those farmers inside the moat of Eastern Canada sold what they wanted to whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Is this one of those deficits of democracy we hear about out here in the homelands. Ever wonder why the Canadian Wheat Board is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act?
DAMM , MADD is mad now at the Martinites. How could the party of “Canadian values” pkls off so many Canadians? Here it is:
MADD angered by Liberal’s use of their slogan
Updated Wed. Jan. 18 2006 6:22 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has accused a Nova Scotian Liberal candidate of trivializing their message, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”
Gary Richard, the Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley candidate, is using the slogan “Friends don’t let friends vote Conservative” in his campaign >>
http://www.rapp.org/url/?9C7CU3ZP
Wow,I do hope that this secret agena of the Liberals is made public. The secret is do it our way or you will suffer. Is this a way to run a country,to use nonexisting laws to charge people? This is a democratic deficit.I hope it is put in conservative adds The democratic deficit of the Liberal party,along with others like parachuting select individuals into ridings without following guidelines ect etc
Uh-o…. looks like gary just stepped in it!
I don’t mind those farmers getting 2 mil each, even if it comes from govt coffers. Afterall, it’s money already picked from my pocket. Better to put it to good use by the farmers for all they’ve endured, than those thieving b_stards in government.Atleast it’ll be value on the dollar spent!
What the majority of farmers really want is to be able to run a profitable business, not get govt handouts, however things are so terribly screwed up in our farm economy right now that it’s tough to do this. The Wheat Board and the laws that Farmers for Justice are fighting against act to stifle the most entreprenuerial of farmers in trying to run a profitable business. Further, the Wheat Board’s many highly paid personnel add expense to this method of marketing and at times do not seem to be very effective in their functions. Just more state control which chills efforts to make farming profitable. Is this the direction we should be taking?? I have heard politicians during this campaign complain about the big farmers – given the current environment, this is the most predominant way to cut expenses – by exercising the economies of scale. There are few options left and it strikes me as the height of arrogance and ignorance to complain about large farms.
I have pounded on this issue a few times in my columns. You don’t know how much this pleases me. Pray for a win on this one guys. The feds spent millions of dollars and hundreds of man-hours prosecuting some farmers for the heinous crime of selling barley.
In Canada you work for Liberals or not at all, the Libs don’t give a shit if you’re a farmer, civil servant or ‘journalist’ – pay your respects to the Party first!
If you are a feminazi who breaks the law the government will give you money to take your case to the supreme court but if your a farmer who trys to sell YOUR OWN product you get persecuted. Something is wrong with this picture.
Kate, I seem to remember that Oil for Food money was laundered through the wheat board. Please correct me if I am wrong.
There are more lies in this pile of crap, that shows some people have a lot of spare time to write fiction you all should say Tories for ever Cheers Thanks for the entertainment keep up the good work
HOW ABOUT TWO OPPOSITE STATEMENTS IN SWORN AFFIDAVITS BY FEDERAL APPOINTED OFFICIALS AS TO A VOTE CONTAINED IN AN ATTACHED COPY OF A MINUTES OF NNC MEETING AND EXAGGERATED BY THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DENYING THE WEST OF THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE NISA AND LATER PROGRAMS. READ MORE AT http://WWW.NISACLAIM.COM