Any Info on the BSE lawsuit?

[ASRG]

Never hear anymore about the class action lawsuit? Is anything happening or has it been given up?
It is obvious the Harper government has no intention of dealing with this, probably just run it out until there is no more money left to pursue it?
Will we ever see the government held accountable for their screwup?

[SADIE]

Good comment ASRG. Again with your great indepth knowledge of the oil/gas and utility industry I will make reference to the CAEPLA landowner Magazine.

The CAEPLA group as "agrivillers might know" has grown from the grass-roots level to make the individual landowners across Canada know about what/how their property rights have been "taken away" from them the landowner.

Wouldn't it be great (IMHO) if a CAEPLA type of magazine could reach out to the same group of people but talk about the incompetance of the CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY or any other beaurocratic agency as well? I know the cost of one edition is enormous and the time spent in editing this type of magazine is monumental as well.

JUST A "CHRISTMAS TYPE OF WISH".

[burnt]

The class action is going forward but very slowly, as one might expect when dealing with such a matter. It was certified quite some time ago and survived the government's attempts at getting it dismissed.

Mr. Cameron Pallett is the best qualified to speak to its progress.

I had the privilege to meet him in Toronto a few weeks ago and was pleased to see that we have a most capable person representing our interests.

[burnt]

Sadie, I wonder if the org of which you speak might be similar to the Ontario Landowner's Association here in Ontario. It seems to be gaining recognition and a bit of steam after initially being viewed as a bit of a "radical group run by those upstart Eastern Ontarioans".

We now have established a rapidly growing local chapter in our county, just east of Lake Huron, so it is now province wide.

It seems that our far eastern fellow residents of this great hotbed of bleeding socialism have a bit more of a spine than those of us west of The Big Smoke and some years ago began a long-overdue push-back against government meddling and erosion of property rights. One of their founding members, Mr Randy Hillier, is now an able MLA from that region of the province.

[SADIE]

burnt---The origin of CAPLA now CAEPLA stems from those landowners in South Western Ontario steming from the area and the book "NO RIGHT OF WAY" by the late Peter Lewington and STU ONEAL.

OPLA organized along the Enbridge Corriodor with Marg Vance as president and still president today. Other landowners organized along other pipelines in South Western Ontario. Ian Goudy another pioneer organized a group.

In 2000 CAPLA organized bringing all the Pipeline Landowner Associations under one umbrella with Dave Core the president and CEO.

The Class action lawsuit was next where Ontario Pipeline Landowners in that area raised 1 million dollars to challange Section 112 of the NEB ACT. The Crossing regulations and the Control Zone that the NEB brought in under the influence of the big pipeline companies and landowners were not allowed to participate.

The Class Action Was lost. The NEB told the Landowners that they have "NO RIGHTS AND NO REMEDY". The NEB also told the South Western Ontario Pipeline Landowners that they were a bunch of "WHINERS". We west has lots of NEB regulated pipelines and we don't here a "peep" from the west. This was in 2006 & 2007. Thanks to the South Western Ontario Landowners they raised more money and sent president and CEO Dave Core out west. Soon MPLA formed along the Manitoba Enbridge Corridor. SAPL organized and mushroomed into a huge army along the ENBridge Corridor. This got the story to Hardisty Alberta. AAPL then took flight along the TransCanada Keystone and the Keystone XL line. Then into North Eastern BC.

The rest is in the CAEPLA magazines.

It is a great story. A very Passionate story which when told has been dubbed "THE GREAT CANADIAN LANDOWNER LOVE STORY---Landowners Reaching out across Canada helpiing other landowners"

Keep it going. Buy memberships. WWW. CAEPLA.ORG

Sorry about stealing your thread ASRG.

[cpallett]

Thanks for the vote of confidence burnt.

Sadie, my read of the Court of Appeal for Ontario's decision is that you cannot sue the pipeline operators for changes to the rules brought in by the government, including section 112 of the National Energy Board act and the Pipeline Crossing Regulations.

As the ONCA found, "the damages alleged flow from the government's imposition of the land use restrictions". The government imposed the land use restrictions, not the pipeline operators.

With regard to the Minister of Natural Resource4s' refusal to arbitrate the claim, the ONCA found that "the appellants argue that they were entitled to arbitrate their claims under the Act, but that the process was "abortive" — referring to the Minister's decision refusing arbitration. This argument assumes that the Minister's decision was wrong. In that event, there was a means available to the appellants to pursue the arbitration process they contend was available to them; they could have pursued judicial review. Their failure to do so does not create a civil cause of action."

Good lawyers and an absolutely stellar three-judge panel from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. You would be hard-pressed indeed to find three better judges anywhere than Dennis O'Connor, Kathryn Feldman and Marc Rosenberg. Pricipled, experienced and scary bright each and every one. My idea of heaven to appear in front of those three.

[cpallett]

Now as for the BSE class action update, here goes:

We are currently at the documentary production stage, which means that the Feds and us are exchanging "all documents relevant to any matter at issue in the action that are or have been in the party's possession, control or power."

We have produced about 5,000 documents, the Feds have so far produced about 42,000 documents with many more to come. We have sorted, OCR'd, coded and loaded into litigation software the Feds' documents. Lots of work.

I expect there will be some scrapping in the Courtroom over the precise form and content of the Feds' further documentary productions, including and especially those over which they claim 'Cabinet Privilege'. As usual, both sides read the leading cases from the Supreme Court of Canada and come up with differing interpretations. Critical issue for us as we say the bureaucrats kept the Minister in the dark as to what was actually going on with BSE.

So, expect more time to be spent by the Feds gathering, screening and sorting documents and by us reading, sorting and notating them. Not to mention the occasional scrap over what is properly producable and in what format.

Then we conduct examinations for discovery where each side gets to ask questions of the other side's representative. Lots of questions. Perhaps weeks of same from our side. Helps to narrow and focus the issues for trial.

Next is exchange of expert reports, setting down for trial, pre-trial conferences, and finally the trial itself which can be expected to take the better part of a year. I agree that the 'Harper government' is unlikely to settle, so prepare for a marathon.

Never mind that the FDA and Treasury Board in the US have found that each and every dollar of subsidy given to farmers in the US has a three to four times multiplicative effect on the economy. Why? Because farmers would rather drink their own bile than pay tax, so every taxable dollar that doesn't go to paying down debt gets spent to improve the farm. Big-time local economic stimulus.

The best economic stimulus package imaginable in Canada would be for the Feds to settle the BSE class action with the payout being in taxable dollars. Which, of course, is why it is so unlikely to happen. God has a sense of humour.

On another note, I appeared in front of a five-judge panel of the Court of Appeal for Ontario on September 19. The Feds launched a collateral attack on the BSE class action by asking the ONCA in another case to overturn their 2007 decision allowing the BSE class action to go forward. All without notice to counsel or to Canadian cattle producers.

It seems the Feds wanted to have the BSE class action thrown out by the ONCA without having to go to all the trouble of having counsel for the cattle producers of Canada present. Not the type of conduct I have come to expect from Justice Canada. Personally, I find it ethically and professionally repugnant that they would stoop to such tactics. I had thought better of them.

Fortunately we were alerted in time and allowed to attend and be heard. As burnt, and a number of senior counsel who were also present will attest, it appears that the Feds' ruse will not succeed. Excellent panel of judges. Truly first class. I had fun.

All the best, all the time.

[SADIE]

Cpallett--Thanks for the update on the BSE Class Action for all of us on agriville.

Have you got your own email address to forward info on?

Thx.

[rkaiser]

And thanks for your efforts as well Mr. Pallett. Agrivillers are on the information front line on a lot of topics.

[kato]

Gee... take a day to haul calves to town and look at all the action I miss! Thanks, ASRG, for asking for a progress report. And thanks to Mr. Pallett for the quick response. And thanks, burnt, for making the drive to court.

This thing is a fine example of how the big players in this world use their resources and unlimited time to drive the small ones down. But this time, we're not going quietly, easily, or any time soon. The sooner they get that, the better for everyone.

Once all the fall work settles down, and I get an updated mailing list for the post-election MPS made up, I'll get back to some serious pestering. They've all had a break, and it's time to give the House a nudge... or two... or three.

[ASRG]

Thank you for the update Mr. Pallet.
Burnt: I am in touch weekly with Liz Marshall of the Ontario Landowners and have talked several times to Tom Black the president of OLA. We are trying to form a very loose "umbrella" organization across Canada to share information and present a more uniform voice on landowner issues.
I am in touch often with Jim Ness of CAEPLA. A really good group doing a lot of valuable work.

[burnt]

Should it ever become my desire to pick a fight with someone, Liz Marshall would be at the bottom of my list of prospects and then on the very last page. She is one of the best minds I have encountered in all my years and has more than enough tenacity to match!

I watched her make pee run down a grown man's pant leg at a public meeting after he displayed the temerity to keep on contradicting her on a point that was very clearly correct in the view of the majority in the room.

And afterward over a coffee at Timmies, she said she hadn't even really "launched" on him yet!

[SADIE]

CPallet---Looking back and speaking as a westerner it was a good thing that the Class Action Lawsuit launched by CAPLA on Enbridge and TransCanada was a loss to the pipeline landowners. The following appeal was lost also.

Gues what the Pipeline Landowner associations in south western Ontario launched a campaign and sent Dave Core out west to get MPLA organized 2006 and SAPL organized in early 2007007. That resulted in the huge benchmark negotiated settlement signed on Oct 12/2007----No confidentiality signed between parties. It was a historic moment on some key issues affecting pipeline landowners. It was the introduction of the huge $35.00/metre linear payment which is now demanded by other landowners with other pipeline companies and now are asking this of Power companies as well.

CAPLA took flight and became CAEPLA in Dec 2008. It remains "pro-development" but wants landowner and property rights considered on future easement agreements. CAEPLA magazines continue to educate many. The winter edition of 2011 really details the corruption of the National Energy Board and how the major pipeline companies support the funding to the Regulator that is supposed to regulate "fairly" on Landowner concerns.

ASRG---Jim Ness was a former cattle client of mine. We have worked together with CAEPLA on many occasions across the country. Jim Ness and I stood together representing Alberta and Saskatchewan pipeline landowners respectively at hearings at the National Energy Board office in Calgary.

Jim Ness assisted my defence and was very strategic in my stand Vs the Canadian Food Inspection Agency CFIA in 2010.