Unfair CWB Practices
CWB. president Adrien Measner's comment that U.S. import tariffs are
unfair should be measured against the fact that the CWB. pressured the
Justice System to jail farmers for taking a bag or two of grain across the
U.S. Canadian border in protest of the huge price difference between
American and Canadian wheat and barley.
In 1995 while Doug Dosko of the RCMP, Paul Vienneau and George Durston,
Customs Investigator, were busily filing Customs violations against
western farmers, Canadian Wheat Board clients were moving huge amounts of
CWB grain without Export Permits through Fort Frances and Thunder Bay into
the U.S.
"The fact is without an Export Permit there is no record of the
price, grade or amount of grain moved. How is this grain recorded in
the Annual CWB Report? questioned Jake Hoeppner, former MP for Portage-Lisgar.
The Statement of Claim filed on June 5, 2003 against Con-Agri Inc. by
the Canadian Wheat Board suggest the Pool Accounts have suffered a huge
loss as a result of Con-Agri exporting without a license.
The most disturbing fact revealed in the March 15, 1996 Daily
Occurrence Report is the involvement of the U.S. Customs attaché in
Ottawa in providing documents to Canadian Officials to prosecute Eastern
farmers while there is no mention of the Grain Companies Export
violations.
During the June 23, 1997 meeting in Ottawa by Justice Canada, Customs
Canada and Canadian Wheat Board Officials, the Canadian Wheat Board lawyer
Cathy Pitfield insists that the laws in question must be upheld.
Both Jane Armstrong and Don Adams respond for AAFC stating that Minister
Goodale has indicated quite clearly he expect Revenue Canada Officials to
continue appropriate action to enforce regulations as they have done in
the past.
"The astounding reality that Canadian Justice Officials were
wiling to prosecute Western Canada farmers on questionable law should be a
wakeup call to every Canadian," remarked Hoeppner.
"The only option that Parliament has is to ask for the resignation
of the Ministers and Government Officials who have since 1994 knowingly
mislead the House of Commons and the Courts. The Standing Committee
on Justice is responsible and duty bound to see that every Canadian is
treated equally under the Law," concluded Hoeppner.
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