The
appeals tribunal has ruled that the Ontario branch of the National Farmers
Union has failed to meet the criteria for re-accreditation as an organization
that can be funded via the Farm Business
Registration program which charges farmers $195 per year.
The decision has still not been posted on the tribunal's website, nor have decisions on re-accreditation applications filed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario.
The
NFU-Ontario failed to provide adequate audited financial statements to meet
accreditation standards and the national organization, headquartered in
Saskatoon, interfered with the choice of the top official in violation of
another requirement.
The
tribunal also ruled that the NFU-Ontario has not provided evidence that the
farmers who directed their $195 Farm Business Registration fee to the NFU
intended it to be a membership fee.
The
tribunal has been deliberating on this issue as it applies to all three general
farm organizations – the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario and the NFU – since it held public hearings last
June.
It
re-opened hearings with the three organizations to address the issue, consulted
with AgriCorp which administers the fees and consulted Hansard’s record of
debates in the provincial legislature.
It
finally concluded that the registration fee could be applied to payment of a
membership fee in the organizations, but wrote that the farmers must explicity
indicate they intend to have their $195 fee applied to membership.
The
tribunal also re-opened public hearings on the NFU application after Sean
McGivern, who had been elected to head the Ontario organization, but was passed
over by the national organization, wrote to the tribunal offering additional
background information.
McGivern
and several other directors resigned in protest. They have since launched an
effort to form another general farm organization.
In
its written ruling, the tribunal says it “had difficulty determining the facts .
. . due to inconsistencies and deficiencies in the material and/or testimony
submitted by the NFU-O.
“At
times, information related to the National Farmers Union (NFU), NFU Region 3
(Ontario) and
NFU-O
was so intertwined within the evidence that the relevant facts were barely
distinguishable
from information about the national organization.
“Also,
the Tribunal was concerned by:
- the inability of directors to obtain
key governance and management
documents;
- objections about the process used to
fill the position of Regional Coordinator
(equivalent
to the position of President) of the NFU-O in 2011;
- the lapse, since 2006, of a
service agreement between the NFU-O and the National Farmers Union (NFU).
“The
Act and Regulation require that NFU-O members - and only NFU-O
members
- determine how they run their affairs and who will represent their
interests.,” the tribunal wrote.
The
auditor’s report the executive provided the tribunal includes a disclaimer
about the inability to verify revenues, so the tribunal writes it “finds that
the NFU-O should have developed accounting processes that ensure the auditor
can conduct the audit of the financial statements and prepare the report in
accordance with the standards set forth in the Handbook of the Canadian
Institute of
Chartered
Accountants without any exceptions."
In
addition, the tribunal says “the NFU-O audited financial statements for the
fiscal years ending September 30, 2008, 2009 and 2010 did not include the per
cent of the applicable amounts received under paragraph 12 of subsection (1)
that the organization has contributed to branches . . .”
The
Tribunal says it “could not, with certainty, determine the amount nor calculate
the per cent of the applicable amounts contributed to “organized” local
affiliates which qualify under the Act and Regulation."
As to
the move by Saskatoon to reject the election of McGivern in 2011, the tribunal
says it “is inconsistent with the responsibilities that should be exercised by
members of the
NFU-O or electors chosen by members of the NFU-O.
‘In
plain language, only NFU-O members should determine who will hold the various
positions on the executive body of their organization.”
The
ruling could cripple the National Farmers Union because more than 60 per cent
of its revenues have been coming from Ontario.
