OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the wishes of two organic farmers who wanted the right to file a class-action lawsuit against Monsanto Canada Inc. over genetically modified canola.
The application for leave to appeal by Larry Hoffman and Dale Beaudoin was sponsored by Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, an umbrella group of organic farmers, processors and consumers.
They went to the high court after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that said there was no basis for a class-action lawsuit.
The farmers first went to court in 2002 and argued that their business was hurt as a result of Monsanto's development of genetically modified canola.
The Supreme Court's decision exhausts all legal avenues for the case.
Trish Jordan, a spokeswoman for Monsanto Canada in Winnipeg, says the company always believed there was no merit to the farmers' claims and is pleased with the Supreme Court's ruling.
