Guelph – The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the
Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario have gained accreditation under the
province’s stable funding system.
It means they are assured of a steady flow of revenues in
the new year. In the case of the OFA, about $390,000 being held by Agricore
will now be released and for the CFFO, about $44,000.
It has been a frustrating 18-month process for the two
general farm organizations.
It also means the Union des cultivateurs francophone de
l’Ontario will receive indirect funding via the two general farm organizations.
The situation for the Ontario Branch of the National Farmers
Union will be the subject of yet another public hearing before the OMAFRA
Appeal Tribunal on Friday, Dec. 14.
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| NFU co-ordinator Anne Slater, left, confers with CFFO general manager Nathan Stevens while CFFO president Lorne Small confers with Jason Bent, OFA's manager of research. Add caption |
Anne Slater, head of that organization, attended the third-round hearings for the OFA and CFFO here Thursday.
They each lasted less
than half an hour – a tribunal record for brevity – and the tribunal announced its
decisions within 15 minutes – another tribunal speed record.
It was in sharp contrast with the 11-month wait for the
original tribunal decisions after public hearings in June, 2010.
The tribunal kept raising objections surrounding membership
and finally Agriculture Minister Ted McMeekin intervened to sweep away 10 of
the 15 regulatory requirements for re-accreditation.
That is only a temporary fix.
OFA president Mark Wales said there will be consultations
with OMAFRA to ensure that the organization is ready to meet the membership and
other requirements for the next round of accreditation.
They are normally for
three years and all previous renewals in the 20-year history of the legislation
have resulted in re-accreditations without this round’s tribunal concerns
surfacing.
The June, 2010, hearings were chaired by Kirk Walstedt, a
lawyer from Maidstone, and two others tribunal members.
The second round of hearings were chaired by Nicholas
Richter and the same two tribunal members – Mary Field and Jane Sadler
Richards.
This time Walstedt had only one other member with him,
vice-chairman Susan Whelan, also a lawyer from Amherstburg.
Slater said the NFU will be presenting additional
information at its hearing Dec. 14.
Kristopher Crawford-Dickinson, lawyer for OMAFRA, said the
ministry will also be making a presentation at the NFU hearing.
He told the tribunal this time that OMAFRA believes the OFA
and CFFO met all of the reduced list of requirements for accreditation and
outlined a commitment both have made to provide funding to the French-language
farm organization.
Neil Currie said it proved to be helpful that the tribunal’s
original decision was delayed until May, 23 this year because the majority of
farm registration fees had flowed through Agricorp to the farm organizations.
In the case of the OFA, about 38,000 memberships came
through before May 23, leaving about 2,000 outstanding.
The Ministry of Finance changed its regulations in October so
those who had not yet received their Farm Business Registrations could receive
some provincial government benefits, such as a subsidy for municipal property
taxes and compensation for wildlife losses.
