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Quebec farmer seeking permission for class action over mad cow crisis Dene Moore, Canadian Press
Published: Monday, October 16, 2006 Article tools
* * * * MONTREAL (CP) - Ottawa and a multinational feed company knew how to prevent the spread of mad cow disease a decade before BSE showed up in Canadian cattle but they did nothing, says a Quebec farmer who is trying to initiate a class action lawsuit against both.
Their negligence and inaction led to the crisis that saw international borders closed to Canadian beef, costing Quebec farmers between $6 billion and $7 billion and Canadian farmers overall up to $20 billion, alleges the lawsuit filed by Donald Berneche.
Berneche was in Quebec Superior Court on Monday asking a judge to approve the class action suit against the federal government and Ridley Inc. (TSX:RLC) on behalf of all Quebec farmers.
"The respondents are responsible for the present mad cow crisis due to their inaction and negligence," says the suit.
Canada's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was discovered in May 2003 and in short order the United States, Japan and dozens of other countries closed their borders to Canadian beef.
It has been known since the late 1980s that cattle are infected when fed parts of other cattle or sheep infected with the disease.
Berneche's lawyers said the government's own documents recognized the enormous threat to the industry posed by BSE.
"Stop feeding (it) to cows - it's as simple as that," Berneche's lawyer, Gilles Gareau, told reporters outside the courtroom.
Britain banned ruminant meat and bone meal, or animal parts, in its cattle feed in 1988 but Canada didn't follow suit until 1997. In fact, the federal government passed a regulation in 1990 specifically allowing the continued use of ruminant parts in feed.
"The government has admitted they did it without any safety analysis whatsoever," said Cameron Pallette, a lawyer involved in lawsuits in both Quebec and Ontario.
The animal feed supply was not properly monitored, he said.
"You know you're talking about closing borders. You're talking about billions of dollars in exports lost. You're talking about the destruction of livelihoods for thousands of hardworking Canadian families - and you don't do anything?" Pallette said outside the courtroom.
Ridley Inc., an Australia-based company that produces feed in Canada and around the world, voluntarily stopped adding bovine protein to its feed in Australia years before, according to the lawsuit.
But it continued to be used in Canada by Feed Rite, the former name of Ridley Inc. in Canada, until the ban was put in place.
The 1997 ban prohibited the use of cattle parts susceptible to BSE in certain animal feeds.
Earlier this year, the food inspection agency announced the industry has until July 2007 to remove those parts from all animal feed, pet food and fertilizers.
Seven cows in Canada have tested positive for mad cow disease, the most recent being last July in Alberta.
Berneche, who farms in the Joliette area northeast of Montreal, said he personally lost $100,000 more than the $120,000 he received in emergency compensation from the federal government.
Similar class action applications are pending against Ridley and the federal government in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
If approved, the Quebec suit would be the first class action in Canada and Gareau is hopeful it could prompt courts in the other jurisdictions to approve class actions in those provinces.
Three days of arguments are scheduled.
Published: Monday, October 16, 2006 Article tools
* * * * MONTREAL (CP) - Ottawa and a multinational feed company knew how to prevent the spread of mad cow disease a decade before BSE showed up in Canadian cattle but they did nothing, says a Quebec farmer who is trying to initiate a class action lawsuit against both.
Their negligence and inaction led to the crisis that saw international borders closed to Canadian beef, costing Quebec farmers between $6 billion and $7 billion and Canadian farmers overall up to $20 billion, alleges the lawsuit filed by Donald Berneche.
Berneche was in Quebec Superior Court on Monday asking a judge to approve the class action suit against the federal government and Ridley Inc. (TSX:RLC) on behalf of all Quebec farmers.
"The respondents are responsible for the present mad cow crisis due to their inaction and negligence," says the suit.
Canada's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, was discovered in May 2003 and in short order the United States, Japan and dozens of other countries closed their borders to Canadian beef.
It has been known since the late 1980s that cattle are infected when fed parts of other cattle or sheep infected with the disease.
Berneche's lawyers said the government's own documents recognized the enormous threat to the industry posed by BSE.
"Stop feeding (it) to cows - it's as simple as that," Berneche's lawyer, Gilles Gareau, told reporters outside the courtroom.
Britain banned ruminant meat and bone meal, or animal parts, in its cattle feed in 1988 but Canada didn't follow suit until 1997. In fact, the federal government passed a regulation in 1990 specifically allowing the continued use of ruminant parts in feed.
"The government has admitted they did it without any safety analysis whatsoever," said Cameron Pallette, a lawyer involved in lawsuits in both Quebec and Ontario.
The animal feed supply was not properly monitored, he said.
"You know you're talking about closing borders. You're talking about billions of dollars in exports lost. You're talking about the destruction of livelihoods for thousands of hardworking Canadian families - and you don't do anything?" Pallette said outside the courtroom.
Ridley Inc., an Australia-based company that produces feed in Canada and around the world, voluntarily stopped adding bovine protein to its feed in Australia years before, according to the lawsuit.
But it continued to be used in Canada by Feed Rite, the former name of Ridley Inc. in Canada, until the ban was put in place.
The 1997 ban prohibited the use of cattle parts susceptible to BSE in certain animal feeds.
Earlier this year, the food inspection agency announced the industry has until July 2007 to remove those parts from all animal feed, pet food and fertilizers.
Seven cows in Canada have tested positive for mad cow disease, the most recent being last July in Alberta.
Berneche, who farms in the Joliette area northeast of Montreal, said he personally lost $100,000 more than the $120,000 he received in emergency compensation from the federal government.
Similar class action applications are pending against Ridley and the federal government in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
If approved, the Quebec suit would be the first class action in Canada and Gareau is hopeful it could prompt courts in the other jurisdictions to approve class actions in those provinces.
Three days of arguments are scheduled.