A CON broke the law. Imagine that.

A Federal Court judge has declared that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law when he introduced a bill to remove the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly without consulting the CWB or holding a Prairie farm plebiscite on the issue.

So will the law-and-order party abide by the Federal Court’s ruling?  Sounds pretty serious.  I’d say snubbing your nose at such a declaration would show monumental disregard for the law, wouldn’t you?

"We will be appealing," said Finley.  She did say "of course we will abide by the law" but Rae said he didn’t know what that means.

Well, she isn’t the Agriculture Minister, so maybe she got the wrong speaking notes and is really referring to harper’s strict rules surrounding his christmas party.  Although it will be a challenge for Finley to be appealing under any circumstances. 

Over to Ritz, the Listeriosis Minister -

Ritz confirmed the intention to appeal in a news release saying the Harper government will continue to push forward with its legislation "despite a disappointing ruling" by the Federal Court.    "Farmers and our government are disappointed by the court’s decision today," said Ritz. "We will appeal this decision as we are convinced that Parliament has the right to end the single desk monopoly."

Hold on a sec.  “Our government?”  That would be all MPs, right? All those elected representatives who speak on behalf of their constituents all across Canada?    So “our government” includes these guys -

NDP and Liberal MPs say the wheat board is important for keeping prices fair for farmers, and fear large agribusinesses will have an upper hand in dealing with farmers if the wheat board loses its monopoly. 

How about farmers?

Wheat producers gave a strong mandate for keeping the single-desk after results for the Canadian Wheat Board Producer Plebiscite were announced .

Oh.  So Ritz is...lying?  Broke the law and lied?

What did the Federal judge actually say (before we hear a bastardized version from the CONs)? (emphasis mine)

In his ruling Campbell wrote: "Generally speaking, when advancing a significant change to an established management scheme, the failure to provide a meaningful opportunity for dissenting voices to be heard and accommodated forces resort to legal means to have them heard….Had a meaningful consultative process been engage to find a solution which meets the concerns of the majority, the present legal action might not have been necessary."

Oh my...meet concerns of the majority, listen to dissenting voices...that's a tough horse for harper to ride.

Chairman Oberg and director Wells, both of CWB appear Thursday morning before a Senate committee to talk about Bill C-18.

Oberg said the court ruling brings additional impetus for senators to reject the Bill.

Faites vos jeux, mes amis.  Harper hates losing and he and his CONsorts have been gunning for the Wheat Board for a long time, but considering the really bad press they’ve all been getting relating to their arrogance and disdain for democratic process, not respecting the Court’s ruling on this would be...bad.

But then, it is stevie, and he seems to think “The State, it is I.” (graphic)