July 30, 2007

 

Decision waits on Canada's CWB on barley control

 

 

Arguments on whether the federal government's decision to remove the control of barley from the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is unlawful wrapped up Thursday (July 26) afternoon, according to a CWB official.

 

"Everyone is now in a wait mode," said Maureen Fitzhenry, a media relations spokeswoman for the CWB, on Friday (July 27).

 

Federal Court Justice Dolores Hansen has indicated efforts will be made to try to make an oral decision before the start of the 2007/08 crop year on August 1, Fitzhenry said.

 

"From our indications, all key participants will be contacted via a conference call by the judge once a decision has been made," she said.

 

The Federal Court had made three days available to hear arguments from the three main participants and three intervener parties. The hearings began early Wednesday (July 25) in Calgary and were scheduled to last until late Friday.

 

Fitzhenry said the judge heard arguments from lawyers representing the CWB, Friends of the CWB, the Manitoba provincial government and the Saskatchewan provincial government Wednesday. All these parties advocate that the decision by the federal government to remove the monopoly powers of the CWB on barley be declared unlawful.

 

Lawyers representing the federal government and the provincial government of Alberta were heard Thursday.

 

The Canadian government announced June 11 that it made regulatory amendments that removed barley from the control of the CWB, effective Aug. 1.

 

The CWB's case argued that the 1998 amendments to the Canadian Wheat Board Act set out a clear process by which barley can only be removed from the single desk through a parliamentary process and not regulatory as the federal government chose.

 

The federal government's lawyer countered that the Canadian CWB's monopoly can be stripped without a parliamentary vote because it is only reversing a regulatory move, not changing legislation.

 

A lot of uncertainty has been thrown into the barley market in Western Canada, market watchers said. Malting companies are uncertain as to who they need to negotiate contracts with to obtain supplies while grain companies have been hesitant to pursue new barley export business given the chance of the CWB winning back its monopoly.