The Canadian Wheat Board is taking the federal government to court over a "gag order" it imposed on the board in October.

The order barred the board from spending money to back its bid to maintain its monopoly on western wheat and barley sales.

In filing an application for a judicial review on Monday, wheat board lawyer Jim McLandress said Ottawa's ban is illegal.

"The issue here is that the federal government is attempting … to effect changes to the CWB legislation without actually going through the proper legislative procedure," McLandress said.

"They're trying, if you will, to do through the back door what they can only do through the front door."

The board is asking a Federal Court judge to declare the Oct. 5 order-in-council "vague and unenforceable," arguing it is unlawful, contradicts the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and exceeds the government's jurisdiction.

Ottawa has 10 days to respond

"The direction has impeded the CWB's ability to fulfill its statutory mandate and obligations, particularly in the context of the pending barley plebiscite where producers are increasingly seeking information from the CWB," the board's application states in part.

McLandress said the federal government has 10 days to respond to the wheat board's application.

Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has indicated his intention to strip the board of its monopoly powers.

On Oct. 31, Strahl announced he would hold a farmer plebiscite next year on the board's future in the sale and marketing of barley. Some farmers argued it should also hold a vote on wheat.

And in a letter faxed to the board on Wednesday, Strahl told president Adrian Measner — an advocate of retaining the board's current single-desk system — that he intends to fire him for not actively supporting the government's plans.

The wheat board's directors defended their president on Friday, sending a resolution to Strahl expressing their "complete confidence" in Measner's abilities as president and CEO of the wheat board.

With files from the Canadian Press