Colin MacArthur, representing eight former CWB directors, also argued that ending the grain seller's single desk would cause "irreparable harm" to western growers.
The former directors, all farmers, are seeking an injunction preventing the implementation of the government's Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act until its validity can be determined.
They made their application Tuesday in Winnipeg before Justice Shane Perlmutter of Court of Queen's Bench. Federal lawyers will oppose the application in arguments Wednesday.
"In order to make the law," MacArthur argued Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz "broke the law."
On Dec. 7, while the wheat board bill was still before Parliament, a Federal Court judge declared that Ritz had run afoul of the law by refusing to give farmers a vote before he moved to take away the CWB's monopoly. The Harper government carried on with passage of Bill C-18, despite the ruling. It has also served notice that it would appeal the Federal Court ruling.
When Bill C-18 came into effect, all farmer-elected CWB directors lost their jobs. The government immediately allowed the private grain trade to make forward contracts with farmers on next year's crop. The wheat board will formally lose its sales monopoly on Aug. 1.
At one point in Monday's proceedings, Perlmutter questioned why the former CWB directors were appearing before him — and not the Federal Court — in their bid for an injunction. "You want me to take steps to enforce another judge's order," Perlmutter told MacArthur. But the lawyer for the former directors responded that time was of the essence, and a court date could be more quickly arranged in the Court of Queen's Bench.
Meanwhile, the now-government controlled CWB gave pink slips to 23 employees on Monday, a board spokeswoman confirmed. "There are plans to further reduce the workforce over the course of the coming months," the CWB's Maureen Fitzhenry said.
Original Article
Source: Ottawa Citizen
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