Strahl says feds have right to remove barley monopoly

Acourt challenge by farmers won'tpreventthe federal governmentfrom removing the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on the sale of barley, federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahlsaid Tuesday.

The federal government has changed regulations to allow Canadian farmers to sell their barley to any foreign or domestic buyer as of Aug. 1.

A coalition of farmers called Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board announced Monday that is intends to launch a legal challenge against the change, arguing the government does not have the legal authority to remove the monopoly through regulations.

But Strahl says the government does have that authority.

"Barley was added by regulation.It can be changed by regulation," he said.

"Regulation on barley is quite different from changing wheat.Wheat requires legislative change, and I don't have any argument with that."

Strahl said he's disappointed in the court challenge, adding all it does is create uncertainty in the market.

The farmers say the government could have avoided that uncertainty by delaying implementation of the change until after the court has dealt with the challenge.

Manitoba government boosts farmers' challenge

Meanwhile, the Manitoba government has contributed $20,000 to support the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Provincial officials say they support the group because the majority of Manitoba farmers don't want open marketing of barley.

The group's lawyer, Anders Bruun, says the case could take up to five months and cost up to $40,000, but the group is well-funded, thanks in part to the cash from the provincial government.

"We have raised sufficient money to cover the legal costs, to cover any award of costs that might be made, to do advertising,"he said.

Bruun's clients believe the recent federal plebiscite among farmers on barley marketing was not a fair vote.

"We will be looking for people who have stories of irregularities in the plebiscite," Bruun said.

About 62 per cent of the 29,000 barley farmers in western Canada said in a mail-in plebiscite in March that they wanted the choice of where to sell their barley or they wanted the board out of barley marketing altogether.

An earlier vote among Manitoba farmers showed the majority supported the monopoly.

"This is an extremely serious issue, and this government has just performed in a way that we have never seen before," said Wilf Harder, a farmer near Lowe Farm, south of Winnipeg,who is involved in the suit.

Harder said anyone connected with agricultural supply management in Canada should be concerned with the federal government's plan to allow an open market on barley.