The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has cleared the hurdle placed by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal to gain certification to collect membership fees via the province’s Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act,
The tribunal gave it only provisional approval when it appeared for a renewal hearing.
On September 13 the OFA provided a letter to the tribunal with several pieces of evidence attached. The two most relevant pieces of evidence are:
- An affidavit by general manager Cathy Lennon, swearing under oath that the 2022 financial statements were made available to the public by being posted to the OFA website on November 15, 2022, in advance of the annual general meeting on November 21, 2022.
- Restated 2022 year-end financial statements prepared by an independent auditor, BDO, that were approved by the OFA board of firectors on September 7, 2023. These statements include an additional Note 15 (that was not included in the original 2022 financial statements) that sets out the total number of supporters in each of the fiscal years 2021 and 2022 as well as the number of refunds process in those years.
Based on that evidence, the tribunal said it is now satisfied that the OFA is in full compliance.
The Ontario branch of the National Farmers Union and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario received the tribunal’s approvals without reservations.
