The government has posted a list of changes the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Council wants to implement for the Ontario Processing Vegetable marketing board and processors.
The proposed changes would:
• Provide flexibility for tomato / carrot processors and their associated producers to determine whether they need a Commission representative to hold the vote or votes at annual meetings prior to negotiations.
• Provide for joint negotiating agencies if more than one tomato or carrot processor and their associated producers are in favour of establishing a single negotiating agency.
• Change the composition of negotiating agencies for the tomato and carrot sectors, which may include:
o Removing the ability of processors to appoint producer members to negotiating agencies; and
o Increasing the number of producer members on negotiating agencies to provide for a more balanced representation.
• Increase the producer participation thresholds that would mandate producer meetings where producers of a regulated commodity determine whether to:
o Accept their processor's final negotiated offer; or
o Proceed to arbitration.
• Provide clarity around the term "final negotiated offer" in the regulation.
• Provide flexibility for all negotiating agencies to appoint conciliators at any time prior to the deadline for completing negotiations.
• Require the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to appoint an arbitrator only if a negotiating agency fails to appoint one.
The Commission will also revoke outdated provisions in the regulation.
The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission is also proposing amendments to Regulation 441: Vegetables for Processing - Plan under the Farm Products Marketing Act. The amendments, if made, would:
• Allow Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers' vice-chair(s) to act as chair in cases of unforeseen absence of the Commission-appointed chair.
• Provide for in-person voting in board elections (in addition to mail and electronic voting).
• Allow parameters governing the nomination process, ballot counting, and election records to be set by the board similar to other marketing organizations by removing these aspects from regulations.
The Commission is also proposing to revoke the following regulations under the Farm Products Marketing Act as they are no longer applicable.
• Ontario Regulation 59/17: Vegetables for Processing - Negotiating Agencies and Specified Negotiation Deadlines in 2017
• Ontario Regulation 22/19: Vegetables for Processing - Extending 2019 Negotiation Deadlines.
