In her new role she will evaluate opportunities to:
Encourage and promote growth within Ontario's regulated marketing sector;
Encourage new food processing opportunities in the province;
Remove undue and unnecessary regulatory and non-regulatory burdens throughout the regulated marketing system;
Achieve improvements in marketing board governance and oversight.
The day before she resigned from her appointed position as chairman of the Ontario Processing Vegetables Marketing Board.
Her resignation came only days before the annual meeting when growers will, for the first time in a couple of years, elect all of the board’s directors.
The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission dismissed a previous board of directors, appointed former NDP agriculture minister Elmer Buchanan its chairman and negotiator with processors for contract terms and prices, and then set out a timeline for growers to elect a new board, starting with half of the directors in the first year.
The commission retains the right to name a chairman.
Leading up to the board’s dismissal were calls from a previous commission chairman, Gerry Kamenz, to heed concerns that processors were leaving Ontario.
Van Bommel was a member of the commission when she was appointed marketing board chair. She also served previously as chief of staff for former Liberal Ontario agriculture minister Steve Peters.
