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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.