Paul Sarantakos
won an appeal last year, but has lost in his attempt to face a lower fee to
stay outside of the Ontario chicken board’s electronic records system.
He, like 39 other
quota holders, will have to pay an annual fee of $1,768 to continue to work on a paper-records basis.
Originally
the chicken board threatened to cancel his quota, worth about $2.76 million,
for refusing to go electronic.
The Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal learned when it held a
public hearing that the chicken board had relented on that penalty that
morning.
The
tribunal went ahead with the hearing and also ordered the board to cancel that
penalty. It granted Sarantakos the right to come back, after dealing with the
chicken board, if he objected to the annual fee.
Murray
Opstein, testifying for the board, said there were 39 others who opted out of
the electronic system and are paying the annual fee.
Sarantakos
argued it’s not fair to charge that much since he is already paying $4,700 a
year in marketing board fees.
