Friday, June 7, 2013

Small flock appeal going to tribunal – finally


Small flock chicken producers have filed an application with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal – finally.

It’s been months since the newly-formed Practical Farmers of Ontario organization, headed by Sean McGivern, said it would take the issue to the appeal tribunal.

The application is coming now from Glenn Black of Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island and his Small Flock Owners of Canada.

He says it has taken him four months of bureaucratic run-arounds to get this far, including appearances before the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board and discussions with the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission.

The commission referred him to the tribunal, even though the commission clearly has jurisdiction over the chicken marketing board and its policies.

It’s a policy change Black and Practical Farmers seek, specifically an increase from 300 to 2,000 in the number of chickens a farmer can raise without requiring marketing board quota.

Usually matters of policy are not dealt with by the tribunal, but by the commission and the marketing board.

It 's just another example of commission chairman Geri Kamenz refusing to deal with tough issues. Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne ought to give him official retirement rather than letting him suck up taxpayer funds for on-the-job retirement.