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Manitoba cattle producers will have an opportunity to learn about an Ontario class action suit against the federal government regarding the BSE crisis during an information meeting at Ashern Centennial Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The suit, now proceeding after the government’s appeals opposing its certification were exhausted Feb. 10, seeks compensation for producers and families affected by international border closings to Canadian beef after the first case of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was reported. Madam Justice Joan Lax of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified the case last September.

Frank Dobbs, spokesman for the group proceeding with the suit, says while statements of claim were filed in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta in April 2005, the Saskatchewan and Alberta suits will proceed under the Ontario suit.

"This class action has a representative plaintiff, a guy in Ontario named Bill Sauer, but all cattle and dairy producers will be braced by the suit," said Dabbs. "In the end 120,000 to 135,000 producers will be eligible to be members of the class action. It’s more efficient for the courts so they’re not hearing the same case over and over again. Once the Ontario suit was certified, the courts won’t proceed with the ones in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but they will in Quebec because they have a civil law system while the other provinces have common law systems."

The action names the federal Agriculture Department, unnamed department officials and cattle-feed manufacturer Ridley Inc. as defendants. Ridley settled Jan. 30 by paying $6 million into a trust fund for the continuing litigation, and the company’s liability is now capped.

The gove8rnment has until late March to file a defence.

Dabbs says the purpose of the meeting, which he and Cameron Pallett— the lawyer leading the Ontario suit— will attend, is to update Manitoba farmers on the status of the lawsuit and answer questions.

"We want to give cattle producers a forum to share their stories and tell Cameron how they were affected," said Dabbs. "Families and marriages broke up, there were suicides, and children lost money for college because plans were derailed."

Dabbs says they hope to pressure the federal government into settling out of court.

"If you calculate everything the government offered in advances, it’s only 15 per cent of damages producers suffered," said Dabbs. "It doesn’t bring justice."

Dabbs says another information meeting will likely be held in southern Manitoba on Friday, though details are forthcoming. For more information about the Ashern meeting, call meeting organizer David Knapp at 768-2870.

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