Mad cow class action against federal government obtains green light from Quebec court
17.jun.07
from a press release
MONTREAL -- In a landmark decision released late Friday, June 15, 2007 Quebec Superior Court Justice Richard Wagner granted authorization to a billion dollar class action suit, ruling that the mad cow class action on behalf of some 20,000 Quebec cattle farmers against the Federal Government will proceed to trial. This is an important step in obtaining compensation for farmers following Canada's mad cow scandal involving over 100,000 Canadian cattle farmers, including Quebec's 20,000 cattle farmers.
In April 2005, class action claims were filed cooperatively by a team of lawyers in the courts of Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta on behalf of all commercial farmers of cattle resident in Canada as of May 20, 2003 (the date at which Canada's International cattle and beef exports were frozen). The claims allege that negligence on the part of the Federal Government caused the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) crisis in Canada and the corresponding loss of income to Canadian cattle producers. The statements of claim may be viewed at:
www.bseclassaction.ca
The class action lawsuits allege that the BSE crisis, the closing of the U.S. and other international borders to Canadian cattle and beef, and the loss of billions of dollars by the Canadian cattle industry were the result of gross incompetence on the part of the Canadian government.
Statistics Canada confirmed in May of this year that Canadian cattle producers have lost more than $9B in cash receipts since the BSE crisis began in May of 2003, an amount which has been growing daily. To view this report, please visit www.bseclassaction.ca
Quebec Attorney Gilles Gareau and Ontario's Cameron Pallett, co-counsel in the Quebec action commented, "We applaud this decision as an important milestone for all of Quebec's and Canada's cattle producers. We are confident it will lead to eventual redress for hard-working farmers who have suffered extensive damage and whose livelihoods have been compromised. It is a view held by many experts that the BSE crisis would never have happened if the Federal Government had not been asleep at the wheel. We would recommend that all potential members of the class retain their financial records going as far back as possible, as these records may be critical in determining the financial damages they are entitled to recover.
According to documents filed in Quebec Court, government officials jeopardized the safety of the Canadian food supply in failing to inform the public that they had allowed 80 British cattle that were supposed to be in a 'monitoring program', to enter the human and animal food chain in Canada. These same government officials' own risk analysis indicated that there was a 95% chance that 6 or more of these animals had BSE."
Although findings of liability against the Federal Government remain to be made at trial, Mr. Gareau and his colleagues from across the country find this a tremendous development for all Canadian cattle producers and urge them to visit the BSE class action website to register and for more information www.bseclassaction.ca
BSE is an incurable neurological disease of cattle that is transmitted when healthy cattle eat the remains of infected cattle or other ruminants. The claim alleges that the federal government was negligent in enacting, or failing to enact in a timely fashion, regulations with respect to permissible ingredients in cattle feed. It is also alleged that the federal government negligently allowed more than 80 British cattle to enter the human and animal food chain, and failed to warn cattle producers of the dangers posed by this release of BSE into the cattle food chain when the government realized what they had done.
17.jun.07
from a press release
MONTREAL -- In a landmark decision released late Friday, June 15, 2007 Quebec Superior Court Justice Richard Wagner granted authorization to a billion dollar class action suit, ruling that the mad cow class action on behalf of some 20,000 Quebec cattle farmers against the Federal Government will proceed to trial. This is an important step in obtaining compensation for farmers following Canada's mad cow scandal involving over 100,000 Canadian cattle farmers, including Quebec's 20,000 cattle farmers.
In April 2005, class action claims were filed cooperatively by a team of lawyers in the courts of Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta on behalf of all commercial farmers of cattle resident in Canada as of May 20, 2003 (the date at which Canada's International cattle and beef exports were frozen). The claims allege that negligence on the part of the Federal Government caused the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) crisis in Canada and the corresponding loss of income to Canadian cattle producers. The statements of claim may be viewed at:
www.bseclassaction.ca
The class action lawsuits allege that the BSE crisis, the closing of the U.S. and other international borders to Canadian cattle and beef, and the loss of billions of dollars by the Canadian cattle industry were the result of gross incompetence on the part of the Canadian government.
Statistics Canada confirmed in May of this year that Canadian cattle producers have lost more than $9B in cash receipts since the BSE crisis began in May of 2003, an amount which has been growing daily. To view this report, please visit www.bseclassaction.ca
Quebec Attorney Gilles Gareau and Ontario's Cameron Pallett, co-counsel in the Quebec action commented, "We applaud this decision as an important milestone for all of Quebec's and Canada's cattle producers. We are confident it will lead to eventual redress for hard-working farmers who have suffered extensive damage and whose livelihoods have been compromised. It is a view held by many experts that the BSE crisis would never have happened if the Federal Government had not been asleep at the wheel. We would recommend that all potential members of the class retain their financial records going as far back as possible, as these records may be critical in determining the financial damages they are entitled to recover.
According to documents filed in Quebec Court, government officials jeopardized the safety of the Canadian food supply in failing to inform the public that they had allowed 80 British cattle that were supposed to be in a 'monitoring program', to enter the human and animal food chain in Canada. These same government officials' own risk analysis indicated that there was a 95% chance that 6 or more of these animals had BSE."
Although findings of liability against the Federal Government remain to be made at trial, Mr. Gareau and his colleagues from across the country find this a tremendous development for all Canadian cattle producers and urge them to visit the BSE class action website to register and for more information www.bseclassaction.ca
BSE is an incurable neurological disease of cattle that is transmitted when healthy cattle eat the remains of infected cattle or other ruminants. The claim alleges that the federal government was negligent in enacting, or failing to enact in a timely fashion, regulations with respect to permissible ingredients in cattle feed. It is also alleged that the federal government negligently allowed more than 80 British cattle to enter the human and animal food chain, and failed to warn cattle producers of the dangers posed by this release of BSE into the cattle food chain when the government realized what they had done.
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