CWB court battle rages on

The ongoing legal battle over the removal of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly is starting to resemble a courtroom version of ping pong. The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to put an end to the legal wrangling, but the group of farmers known as the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board

It’s onward and upward as crowds flock to St. Norbert Farmers’ Market

It’s official: Le Marché St.-Norbert Farmers’ Market is one heck of a draw. The market on Winnipeg’s southern outskirts drew 10,000 people on a single day in August. The huge Saturday crowd demonstrates why recently announced renovations and improvements are badly needed, said Marilyn Firth, the market’s community relations manager. Those include upgraded drainage, improved


Feds hope for Growing Forward deal this month

After two years of largely behind-the-scenes discussion, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz hopes to strike this month for a framework agreement with the provinces on the next version of Growing Forward. In a news release, Ritz said a wide variety of views has been heard. “Canadians have spoken on the future direction of agriculture and governments

2012-13 crop year — so far, so good

It’s early days but the grain pipeline is working smoothly 
in wake of the new open market for wheat and barley

So far, so good. That sums up Western Canada’s 2012-13 crop year following the introduction of an open market for wheat and barley Aug. 1. But it’s still early days, say grain company officials. “It’s really too early to say a lot on the logistics side,” Ward Weisensel, CWB’s chief operating officer, said in an


CWB announces 2012-13 initial payments for canola

CWB will pay farmers delivering canola into its Harvest Pool a $475-per-tonne initial payment for No. 1 and $462 per tonne for canola graded No. 2, the company announced Sept. 4. The initial payments, which are guaranteed by the federal government, represent a portion of expected final returns. The current pool return outlook for No.

Farm groups set objectives for fall session of Parliament

With the Canadian Wheat Board battle in the rear-view mirror, this fall’s parliamentary session won’t be as controversial. But long-promised legislation to set standards for railway service levels, drought aid for Ontario and Quebec farmers, and the new Growing Forward deal — expected to make farmers more responsible for their financial well-being — should generate



Pardons for border runners raise questions

Now that the CWB is changed, Stephen Harper says farmers who broke the law in the 1990s deserve to be pardoned

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to pardon some of the western farmers convicted of contravening Customs Act regulations in the 1990s is raising eyebrows. “Where does that stop?” Bob Roehle, a former CWB employee and member of Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board asked. “In a democracy, do I get to choose which laws I


Prime minister celebrates grain-marketing freedom

The new CWB says it’s ready to compete in an open market and 
buoyed by a good crop, high prices and farmer support

The drama over the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board single desk showed no sign of abating last week as the new era of open grain marketing began. Prime Minister Stephen Harper told several hundred cheering farmers gathered at a farm near Kindersley, Sask. Aug. 1 farmers who ran the border to challenge the board’s

The prime minister honours CWB protesters for fighting unjust law

The following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s remarks while at an event in Kindersley, Sask., Aug. 1 to celebrate the government’s victory in eliminating the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk. What a great day this is. It’s a great day for western Canadian farmers — a great day for all who have