Letters, Jan. 31

Promise to consult abandoned Regarding the Jan. 24 article “Supreme Court hammers another nail into wheat board’s coffin,” I think for the most part farmers will acknowledge the court’s decision, not to hear the appeal case, and continue on with their normal, everyday lives and challenges. But every once in a while they will be

A penny a plant?

Back in the days when being a farm kid spelled work and a penny was still worth five Mojos at the local store, Grandpa had us all out there one hot, July afternoon hand roguing his seed oats for a penny a plant. If some agronomists are correct, it’s looking like farm kids of the


Supreme Court hammers another nail in wheat board’s coffin

But the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board 
will continue to pursue a class-action lawsuit for 
$17 billion in compensation

With their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada rejected, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) are vowing to continue with a class-action lawsuit, their last remaining legal avenue for challenging the federal government’s decision to end the board’s monopoly last year. The Supreme Court has refused to hear appeals of the eight

OUR HISTORY: October 23, 1975

To combat high inflation during the 1970s, the federal government had introduced wage and price controls. While they did not apply to farm products directly, Wage and Price Control Board chair Jean-Luc Pepin and vice-chair Beryl Plumptre had indicated they would have a look at the operation of farm marketing boards. Pepin said he “had


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

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



CWB monopoly ends,open market begins

As the fluffy, golden-awned heads of barley flowed seamlessly into Ron Sabourin’s combine last week, he was more focused on getting this year’s crop in the bin than he was with the dawn of a new marketing era in Western Canada. Sabourin started pricing out this year’s wheat last December and doesn’t plan to use


Being right can feel wrong

There are times in life when you like to be proven wrong, like when you take your wailing newborn to the hospital emergency ward in the middle of the night fearing something is terribly amiss. In that situation, it’s a huge relief to be told you are mistaken. And there are times when any pleasure

Ottawa appealed ruling against Ritz on CWB Act

The Federal Court of Appeal reserved its decision May 23 after hearing the federal government’s appeal of a ruling last year that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law by not consulting with farmers before ending the Canadian Wheat Board single desk. The Appeal Court hasn’t signalled when it will render a decision. But its