Pulse packers’ security covers cash owed to farmers

Sales of Globeways plants in Manitoba, Saskatchewan now approved

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Published: March 3, 2021

A view from Globeways Canada’s office at Mississauga, Ont., from a 2011 video marking the presentation of the Mississauga Board of Trade’s award for Small Business of the Year. (MBOT video screengrab via YouTube)

More than 50 farmers who were owed money for deliveries to Prairie pulse and special crop processors Canpulse Foods and Global Grain Canada are expected to get what they’re owed, as both companies’ assets move to new ownership.

Canpulse, Global Grain Canada and their parent company Globeways Canada went into receivership last Nov. 19, following the Oct. 31 suspension of their Canadian Grain Commission licenses.

Farmers subsequently made claims through the CGC’s Safeguards for Grain Farmers program, which turned up 40 eligible claims involving Canpulse, worth over $3 million, and 13 such claims on Global Grain, worth over $700,000, the commission said Tuesday.

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The eligible claims were all “fully covered” by the security already posted by Mississauga-based Globeways’ two subsidiaries, the CGC said. Court approval for the sale of the two companies’ inventory was issued Jan. 4.

Under the program, CGC-licensed grain companies must tender security with the CGC to cover outstanding grain liabilities, by means such as a bond, letter of credit, letter of guarantee or payables insurance.

If a licensed company misses its payment obligations, the commission then uses the company’s posted security to compensate eligible producers.

In cases where a CGC licensee “fails to meet its obligations,” producers may seek compensation within 90 days from the date of their grain delivery or within 30 days from the date a cash purchase ticket or cheque was issued to them, whichever time period is shorter.

Global Grain, based at Plum Coulee, Man., mainly processes beans and cranberries at its plant while Canpulse Foods’ plant at Kindersley, Sask. handled mainly lentils, peas and canary seed.

Court approval was granted Feb. 9 for the sale of the Canpulse plant at Kindersley to Purely Canada, a Regina plant-based protein processor and subsidiary of processor Above Food Corp., which makes the Above Meat brand of meat alternatives.

Purely Canada, part of Above Food since October last year, announced Feb. 12 it had closed its deal for the Kindersley plant, which has processing capacity for up to 100,000 tonnes of grains and ingredients.

Globeways’ receiver, BDO Canada, filed a report in Ontario’s Superior Court on Feb. 23 seeking approval for the sale of the Global Grain plant at Plum Coulee to a Manitoba arm of pulse and specialty crop trader ETG Commodities.

Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen approved the sale Tuesday to Mississauga-based ETG — which last year picked up four Saskatchewan processing facilities formerly owned by now-defunct pulse export firm ILTA Grain.

The sale of the Globeways head office site in Mississauga, meanwhile, was approved in December and closed later that month. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

About the author

Dave Bedard

Dave Bedard

Editor, Grainews

Farm-raised in northeastern Saskatchewan. B.A. Journalism 1991. Local newspaper reporter in Saskatchewan turned editor and farm writer in Winnipeg. (Life story edited by author for time and space.)

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