End of Canadian Wheat Board monopoly survives its first legal challenge

The Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly to market Prairie wheat and barley has come to an end and survives its first legal challenge.  The Harper government's Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act (Bill C-18) received royal assent on December 15, 2011 and remains in effect for now despite a December 16, 2011 ruling by a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench judge who denied a motion by eight former wheat board directors that would have temporarily prevented the Harper government from implementing the new law.  It could take as long as a year for the Court of Queen's Bench to hear a motion by the former directors to declare the marketing freedom law invalid.  The following article by Mia Rabson, Postmedia News, sums up the current state of affairs very well.
Farmers can now forward contract their wheat and barley with private grain trading companies against next year's wheat and barley crops for post August 1, 2012 deliveries.  CWB president and CEO Ian White issued a statement Friday assuring farmers that the board will continue to market farmers' grain, if they so wish. "We will work to achieve the best prices for farmers and superior service for customers in Canada and around the world," he said.