Similar decisions have been made in the past
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Jeff Leal, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Minister Responsible for Small Business, dissolved the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) Board on Friday. He appointed Elmer Buchanan as the board’s Trustee, giving Buchanan the authority to assist in 2017 contract negotiations. This appointment is a temporary measure, Leal said in a release, “until elections for an OPVG Board are held prior to Dec. 31, 2017.”
Negotiations between tomato growers and processors reached an impasse, Leal said, so he acted accordingly to save this year’s crop season.
Jim Clark, Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) interim chair, said in a separate release that the decision was made with the best interests of farmers in mind.
“Not taking this action now would likely have negative effects on the 2017 crop size, which would have had consequences on the livelihoods of Ontario farmers and the provincial economy as a whole,” Clark said in the release.
Upon hearing of Buchanan’s appointment, Ontario producers took to social media to voice their displeasure over the decision.
“People elect Wynne (and) people elect OPVG,” Mark Lehn, a Leamington-area tomato producer, said on Twitter. “Wynne removes (the) elected OPVG. Who removes Wynne?”
Rob Smyth, a fellow tomato producer, wondered how an impasse can occur when memorandums of understanding (MOU) are in place.
“What was the impasse?” he said in a tweet mentioning Minister Leal. “We have a (five year) MOU. You cannot ignore a binding contract! This family farm and democracy is now at risk!”
But in an email to Better Farming, OMAFRA outlined that similar decisions have been made in the past:
- In 2015, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) removed the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers’ Marketing Board authorities to manage supply and negotiate price,
- Between 2011 and 2013, an amalgamation of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board with the Coloured Bean Producers’ Association took place,
- In 2008, OFPMC dismantled Ontario Pork’s single desk selling system,
- In 2004, the Ontario Apple Marketing Commission was dissolved, and
- In the 1990s, the Chicken Farmers of Ontario had their price setting powers removed.
Leal remains focused on achieving “reform (in the OPVG framework) for the 2018 growing season and beyond,” he said in an interview with Better Farming.
Farms.com has reached out to further vegetable producers for comment.