P.E.I. potato farmers take federal government to court as export ban on seed potatoes continues
Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are taking the federal government to court due to the decision to restrict the movement of P.E.I. seed potatoes.
In 2021, a ministerial order stopped the transport of the Island's best-known export, table and seed potatoes, to the United States after potato wart was found in a few Island fields.
The shipments of table potatoes resumed in April 2022 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave Island farms the all-clear.
However, seed potatoes, which account for about 10 per cent of the Island's annual potato output, are still banned from the United States pending the outcome of a more thorough U.S. Department of Agriculture review. There are also restrictions on their sale to other Canadian provinces.
The fungal parasite -- a disease that disfigures potatoes but poses no threat to human health -- spreads through the movement of infected potatoes, soil and farm equipment.
The application by the P.E.I. Potato Board is calling on the federal court to strike down decisions made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the federal minister of agriculture, who ordered the ban in 2021.
Lawyers for P.E.I. potato farmers argued the decisions were beyond the scope of CFIA, did not follow fair process, and was not reasonable given the degree of potato wart found in P.E.I. fields.
They also say the CFIA has damaged the reputation of P.E.I. potatoes by calling the Island "infested" with potato wart.
“Would you want to buy potatoes from an infested place? Probably not. So, the longer that black cloud is hanging over P.E.I., the more damaging it is," said Mark Ledwell, one of the P.E.I. Potato Board’s lawyers.
According to the farmers’ lawyers, only 0.4 per cent of potato fields on the island have confirmed potato wart in the last 20 years since it was first discovered.
Lawyers for CFIA say the word "infected" in this context is a technical description under CFIA and trade regulations.
They also argued it is the mandate of the food agency to protect Canadian agriculture, adding that the United States officials were threatening a blanket ban on Canadian potato imports. They say this created the urgency required to issue the decisions.
According to government lawyers, the U.S. didn’t want P.E.I. potatoes, meaning it was no longer meaningful to continue to issue export certificates.
To date, CFIA has taken 45,000 soil samples from the Island as part of an ongoing investigation.
So far, 35,000 have been tested, with three coming back positive for the disease.
The judge reserved his decision on the matter Thursday, but promised a quick decision in light of the quickly approaching planting season.
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.