The Régis in Quebec has given the province's chicken board and processors until the end of the month to come up with a deal that satisfies them all.
If not, the Régis has said it will impose an agreement, including the thorny issue of setting supplies for each processing plant.
The Quebec marketing board and processors need the Régis' approval to implement a deal with Ontario's marketing board and processors to stop inter-provincial trade in live chickens.
The sticking point in both provinces is concerns raised by small-volume processors who fear the big guys won't let them get enough chickens to satisfy demand.
Meanwhile, the Quebec marketing board has filed for leave to appeal a Quebec court decision that threw out a temporary moratorium that both the Ontario and Quebec marketing boards imposed on their producers, refusing them the right to sign new contracts with out-of-province processors.
