The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Appeal Tribunal has revived the hearing into chicken board’s specialty-markets
policy.
The hearing is scheduled to resume Sept. 15 and the tribunal
has added Sept. 16.
The Ontario independent Poultry Processors Association
launched the appeal earlier this summer, but the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing
board and the Association of Ontario Chicken Processors argued that it was
premature because the specialty-markets policy might be withdrawn or, if not,
then substantially changed.
They said that would happen soon.
In fact, nothing has changed since the tribunal adjourned
the case in July.
The small-volume independent processors want the policy
implemented so they can source chicken to supply specialty and niche markets.
The larger-volume processors who are members of the
Association of Ontario Chicken Processors don’t want to give up any of the
chicken supplies they enjoy so the smaller companies can develop and serve new
markets. The AOCP says the extra chickens required should be allocated to
Ontario by the national agency, the Chicken Farmers of Canada.
Other than a tiny trial involving special breeds, the
national agency has refused to grant Ontario those extra rights to increase
production.
The Ontario chicken board is also taking another look at its
policy of dividing the production rights it is assigned by the national agency
to licenced chicken processors.
It began that allocation policy to try to stop the
processors from bidding chicken prices higher than the minimums set by the
board.
Under supply management, marketing boards are supposed to
charge no more than enough to cover production costs and a reasonable return on
investment and management.
