Farmers for Justice: Battle Not Over Yet
(December 5, 2002 - FFJ) Late in the day on November 4, Alberta farmers
Bill Moore, Ron Duffy and John Turcato stepped out of the Lethbridge
Correctional Institute and met with supporters and family members.
The three men had been part of a 1996 protest against the CWB’s
monopoly, and had been serving a prison sentence as a result of their
protests.
The farmers served their entire sentences.
“I choose to go to jail instead of paying the
$5500 fine,” said Bill Moore. “It
was a board policy, not law that was broken.
Why can Ontario and Quebec export their grain without a buy back
as we must do? We have to
buy our own grain back at an inflated price from the CWB.
We are proud of the all the farmers that were incarcerated and
chose to go to jail to work off the fines.”
Moore added these words to the public, “Thank you for the care
and support shown during my incarceration.”
Turcato had more to say.
“I believe that our freedoms have slowly eroded to the state
that they are in now. There
comes at time when we must say enough is enough.
Just because the policies of the Canadian Wheat Board have been
there for sixty plus years does not make it anymore just.”
“I believe that my 35 days in jail is nothing
in comparison to the imprisonment the western farmers have been under
since the beginning of the CWB monopoly,” he continued.
Ron Duffy, the third released farmer explained
the issue more fully. “The
legality of the vehicle seizures have never been established, and that
for 6 and a half years we have been denied the right to defend ourselves
in the court room is astounding. We
will be denied access to the court’s next!”
“Twenty years ago we would have been innocent
until proven guilty. With
the implementation of the GST, we have become guilty until we could
prove our innocence. Now we
can’t even get into the courtroom to defend ourselves.”
“These seizures were a civil issue.
Should the seizures be found to be illegal, how would that impact
the criminal convictions we have just served time for?
Section 5 was null and void as per David Sawatzky’s acquittal
on May 17, 1996. Section 3
has no basis in law as per documents obtained through access to
information. Section 114,
failing to place seized vehicles in the custody of a customs officer was
substantiated by the civil vehicle seizures which we have been denied
the right to defend ourselves on,” Duffy stated.
The farmers are
protesting the unfair treatment of western farmers in the hands of the
CWB. “All Canadian
farmers require an export license, but only Western farmers are required
to go through the "buy-back" process,” said Colleen Bianchi
of Canadian Farmers For Justice. “There
is no legislative requirement forcing western farmers to do this - only
CWB policy. Farmers should
not be incarcerated for simply violating policy."
“I think that there is a time and place for
peaceful demonstration and civil disobedience,” added Turcato.
“My hope is that next time the need arises for protesting
injustice, that there are not 13, but 1300 or 13 thousand.
What then would the powers that be have to say?”
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For more information, please contact:
Colleen Bianchi: 403-344-4473 |
