Agricultural Law NetLetter - Tuesday, April 21, 2015

** HIGHLIGHTS ** *

• A Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench has upheld a decision of the Saskatchewan Farm Land Security Board which directed the sale of Saskatchewan farm land subject to a complex series of financing transactions. The Board described the transactions as an attempt to get around the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act by allowing non-Canadian entities the opportunity to profit and derive income from the increasing value of Saskatchewan farm land and to control the operation of Saskatchewan farm land. The financing operations involved issuing derivatives which increased or decreased in value with farm land held by the entities involved. The decision concluded that the "reasonableness" standard of review applied to the Board's decision. (Skyline Agriculture Financial Corp. v Farm Land Security Board, CALN/2015-010, [2015] S.J. No. 167, Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench)