Mad Cow Lawsuit Against Ottawa to Proceed

A ruling by the Quebec Superior Court paves the way for a class action suit against the Canadian federal government. 20,000 Quebec farmers get day in court. Billions of dollars were lost as mad cow disease entered the food system.

A lawsuit that was filed in 2005 on behalf off 20,000 Quebec farmers was given the go-ahead sign due to a ruling by the Quebec Superior Court. This is a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit accuses the Canadian federal government for jeopardizing public safety because of how the federal government handled a mad cow outbreak. The Quebec farmers claim that the government mismanaged the outbreak of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. According to the lawsuit mismanagement cost Canada’s cattle industry billions of dollars

"For the first time, Quebec beef producers will be heard," said Gilles Gareau, the lawyer heading the suit.

To make things even more costly, separate class-action suits have been filed co-operatively in courts in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Quebec court ruling came down on Friday and will most likely become a template for the courts to use when dealing with the lawsuits in the other provinces.

"We are going to be entering into a situation where the rights to recover of the Alberta cattle producers will effectively be determined by the courts of Quebec," said Cameron Pallett, a lawyer working on the suits in both Quebec and Ontario

. The story goes like, this government officials lost track of 80 British cattle, these 80 head were judged to be at a high risk of contracting BSE. One of the lawyers has discovered a document that shows that officials failed to properly inform the public in 1993 that the British cattle entered the Canadian food supply. It is important to remember that to date these are claims which have not yet been proven in court. "

I am dying to have the memo to [then agriculture minister] Ralph Goodale read out in court," Pallett said. "They don't tell him they lost 80 British cattle and allowed them into the human and animal food chain."

The lawsuit makes the accusation that the Canadian subsidiary of multinational feed company Ridley Inc. sold feed in Canada that contained bovine protein, a practice the company voluntarily stopped in Australia years before. The first case of BSE appeared in Canada in May of 2003 and borders were quickly closed to Canadian beef by the United States, Japan and dozens of other countries. Gareau said:

"It's the first time the beef producers … will have the chance for this BSE mismanagement by the federal government to come [out] in public," he said.

"Hopefully [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper will listen and take note and deal with the problem. It's not only affecting Quebec beef producers, but producers throughout Canada."

The Liberals where in power during this period and if the farmers are correct then this is another Liberal screw-up. Harper may well be able to use that to his political advantage. The right move could help him in the polls and increase the possibility of a majority win when the next federal election is called.