Exhibit 1-B
Columnist considering legal action
Columnist Paul Beingessner says he has been defamed and
wants an apology from Albert Wagner, president of the Western Barley
Growers Association
By Allan Dawson
FIW staff
Farmer and newspaper columnist Paul Beingessner has denied
claims by the president of the Western Barley Growers Association that the
Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) pays him to write his columns.
"I've had discussions with a lawyer about what steps
we'll have to take to correct this blatant falsehood and we will be making
a decision this week," Beingessner said December 15 in an interview
from his farm near Truax, Saskatchewan.
In a December 9 letter to CWB chair Ken Ritter, Albert
Wagner, president of the Barley Growers Association and an unsuccessful
candidate in the recent CWB election, wrote there has been "serious
wrongdoing" and the "misappropriation" of farmers' money
requiring immediate action.
"Columnist Paul Beingessner has confirmed that for
some time the CWB has been paying him to write articles expressing
opinions which favor the bureaucracy and demean those who question the
value of the various positions taken by the CWB," Wagner wrote.
"In addition, the CWB intervened in the director election process by
requesting Mr. Beingessner write and by compensating him for such articles
during election periods. The contents of these articles were clearly
designed to influence the outcome of the CWB direction elections."
Beingessner said he did some consulting for the CWB two
years ago, which included editing information on grain transportation.
He is not on the CWB payroll for his columns that appear in weekly papers
across the West.
"I categorically deny it," he said.
"It's a rich piece of fantasy and in comments to the media Albert
(Wagner) has indicated that he can't substantiate it. I think it's
high time he did the honorable thing and apologized."
In an interview December 9, Wagner said that Beingessner
had confirmed his CWB connection in a CBC radio interview and in his own
column. When asked if Beingessner's admission referred to his
editing work two years ago, Wagner said, "We think there is more to
it than that." When asked for evidence of his allegations,
Wagner said he had none, but added that more information "will come
to light."
A livid Louise Waldman, spokesperson for the CWB refused
to comment on what she called "salacious half truths."
"People should do their research properly," she said.
Waldman declined to comment on whether the CWB is
considering suing Wagner for libel. However, reliable sources say
the CWB is investigating that possibility.
CWB election coordinator Peter Eckersley looked into
charges that the CWB engaged in improper activity during the election, but
found no evidence of it, he said in a recent interview.
In his letter to Ritter, Wagner asks that the Auditor
General of Canada be called to account for not uncovering the alleged
misappropriation of money and that the people responsible for allocating
the money be held accountable.
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