Bill Gray of L.H. Gray and Sons Ltd. faced accusations 11 years ago that he used inferior-quality eggs to squeeze out grading-station competitors, judging by testimony before a committee of the Ontario legislature. Those accusations bear a striking similarity to current claims by Svante Lind of Best Choice Eggs that Gray supplied his business with inferior-quality eggs.
A reader directed me to a transcript of hearings the Ontario legislature's Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills held in Sault Ste. Marie on March 7, 2000.
Rene Robert told how he bought an egg business near Temiskaming in October, 1997, and ran a grading station to supply local stores. He claims the customers were happy, particularly to be buying fresh eggs from a local producer.
But "Gray Ridge and Sons Ltd. kept moving into our territories and cutting our necks in the stores and making deals with franchisors to keep us off the shelves," he testified. That would be big supermarket chains with local franchises, such as IGA and Red and White, and would be the local impact of deals that Gray and the Hudson family, which owns Burnbrae Farms Ltd., make to be exclusive suppliers to big chains. Together Gray and Hudson account for more than 90 per cent market share in Ontario.
Robert folded his egg-grading business, but made a deal to have My-T-Fresh of Iron Bridge grade and package his eggs so he could continue to supply some local stores.
Then Gray bought My-T-Fresh and shut down its grading station. Then Robert's eggs were trucked to Gray's grading stations in Southwestern Ontario, but the eggs that came back in his cartons were lousy.
"We were receiving rotten eggs in our containers, Robert testified. He soon lost his customers.
Robert said what Gray did was unfair to him as an egg producer and "customers are getting cheated as well." Instead of fresh, locally-produced eggs, their only choice became less fresh eggs from grading stations hundreds of kilometres away.
Gray has company lawyers busy countering allegations by Svante Linde of Sweda Farms Ltd. and Best Choice Eggs that he employed similar tactics to try to drive him out of business. In this case, Lind is claiming that in response to his request to import eggs from the U.S., the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board and Gray and Burnbrae conspired to fill his needs, but they sent him inferior-quality eggs. Gray, Burnbrae and the egg board deny the allegations; the courts may eventually rule, providing there is no out-of-court settlement that includes a provision that the terms of the settlement be kept a deep, dark secret.
