The Association of Ontario Chicken Processors and the chicken marketing board have lined up an answer to Robert
LaPlante’s longstanding pursuit of chicken supplies for hgis Eastern Ontario
processing plant.
LaPlante had filed a number of
appeals with the tribunal and had pursued every option he could identify, but
was stymied for years.
Now there is an agreement to supply
him with 500,000 kilograms per
quota period.
The AOCP members are each yielding
some of their plant supply quota to make the deal possible.
The same members earlier yielded some
of their plant supply quota to a processing plant at Welland to in return for
dropping lawsuits that challenged the no-trade agreement between the Quebec and
Ontario marketing boards and processors.
CAMI also dropped its lawsuit
challenging the Chicken Farmers of Canada and Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade process that denied it the right to import live birds from
the U.S. to meet unfilled consumer demand for Hong Kong dressed chicken – i.e.
feet and legs and heads left on.
The AOCP also agreed to yield plant
supply quota to any Ontario processing plant willing to fill the demand for
kosher chicken. So far none have been willing to make the huge investments
required to meet kosher standards.
“The decision to expand the Laplante
Poultry Farms chicken processing facility in Monkland will provide Eastern
Ontario and other farmers with a new partnering opportunity for processing
their chicken,” says the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board on its
website.
“CFO is dedicated to meeting chicken
consumer markets, whether these markets are for conventional, specialty, or
artisanal chicken or, as in this case, those looking for locally grown and
processed chicken in Eastern Ontario,” said Rob Dougans, president and chief
executive officer of the marketing board.
“This expansion also helps meet
another long-time goal of Chicken Farmers of Ontario to help facilitate
economic growth of the chicken industry and create jobs across the province
including in Eastern Ontario.”
He has said nothing about
long-standing complaints that Northern Ontario lacks producers and processors.
“We are the only Ontario chicken
processor east of Toronto, “said Robert Laplante, operator of LaPlante Poultry
Farm. “We are pleased to be able to grow our business in this region and offer
processing capacity for those farmers looking for local options in the language
of their choice.“
As a result of the additional chicken processing supply,
the LaPlante processing plant will be upgraded to handle approximately 500,000
kilos of chicken per quota period and will increase the number of full time
jobs at the facility by up to 25 workers.
The agreement also relieves the pressure from
French-Canadian chicken producers who want to market their birds to processing
plants in Quebec, something made difficult by the trade-ban agreement.
