EDMONTON - The board of directors of the Canadian Wheat Board will discuss whether to take the issue of a government gag order to the Supreme Court, likely at a meeting next month, its chairman said Saturday.
Larry Hill, speaking from his grain farm near Swift Current, Sask., said he's disappointed with the latest ruling from the Federal Court of Appeal.
It has overturned a decision that struck down a gag order imposed on the board by the Conservative government.
The panel of three judges said the Wheat Board Act has a provision which gives the government the authority to direct the board "on any matter of government in the event of a disagreement with the board of directors."
"The plain purpose of the Direction/Order ... is to ensure that the Wheat Board no longer advocates a mandate that is at odds with government policy using funds made available to it under the Act," the written ruling says.
"The Direction/Order being limited to the use of funds, individual directors and staff of the Wheat Board remain free to advocate the view of their choice without financial support from the Wheat Board."
The Appeal Court said the federal judge erred in his view that preventing the board from using producer funds to advocate its position infringes on freedom of expression guaranteed by the Charter.
"The Wheat Board is a creature of statute and as such, it has no powers, rights and duties save those bestowed on it by the Act. Since (we) have found that as a result of the Direction/Order the Wheat Board has no authority under the Act to use producer funds to advocate against government policy, there is no Charter right to protect.."
Wheat board member Hill disagrees.
"The appeal court decision runs contrary to the views of western farmers, I think. In my opinion, Western Canadian farmers believe that they're electing directors to operate the CWB, not to have the government make decisions about how the organization is operated," Hill said.
The court ruling just "muddies" the water in terms of who is really in charge of the board, he said.
A board survey in 2008 found that 77 per cent of farmers believed the future of the board should be determined by farmers, not the federal government, Hill said.
He dismissed criticism that the board has spent farmers' money advocating for its single-desk marketing board.
"It's just a matter of principle that farmers should be in charge and that producers have factual information to make their decisions on ... I think that the board of directors should be free to give producers information."
He said the board will respect the gag order and make sure its directors work within the law.
Kevin Bender, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, said they're satisfied with the latest ruling.
"We don't feel that the wheat board is justified in promoting the monopoly and basically spending the dollars of farmers who don't want to deal with them, but have no choice," he said in an interview from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., where he was attending a farm sale.
His group advocates a system where producers can opt out of the monopoly marketing board system and sell its grain on an open market.
"A lot of farmers don't agree with (the fact that) we're compelled to sell to them so they're using our money to advertise a monopoly. It just doesn't make sense," Bender said.
While the board can appeal the ruling, the wheat growers group is hoping the Appeal Court ruling spells the end to the gag order issue.
Stewart Wells, president of the National Farmers Union, accused the federal government of taking measures to undermine the authority of the board, including imposing the gag order.
"Because the wheat board is controlled by elected farmers, this is a gag order on farmers in Western Canada and it's an absolute insult," Wells said from his grain farm in southern Saskatchewan.
Wells said there are ongoing court challenges over measures the federal government has taken, including making changes to voters' lists in board elections and removing spending limits by third parties who want to advertise or advocate issues in those elections.
"They are encouraging people to spend more and more money to put out misinformation about the board, while they gag the Canadian Wheat Board, and gag farmers, and make it impossible to go out there and set the record straight to make sure farmers understand how the board is operating," he said.
Farmers should know they may only be one court ruling away from having the federal government "impose their will" and "override" the interests of Western Canadian farmers," Wells said."
The Conservative government's pro-business political philosophy aims to put the billions of dollars generated by the board into the hands of huge grain corporations and transportation companies -- and that's partly what's driving this battle, he said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised during the 2006 federal election to give western wheat and barley producers the ability to choose how to market their grain, but the wheat board opposes marketing choice and wants to keep the monopoly.
