Vol. 148, No. 1 — January 1, 2014

Registration

SOR/2013-243 December 13, 2013

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKETING ACT

Ontario Grain Order

P.C. 2013-1366 December 12, 2013

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, pursuant to section 2 (see footnote a) of the Agricultural Products Marketing Act (see footnote b), makes the annexed Ontario Grain Order.

ONTARIO GRAIN ORDER

INTERPRETATION

1. The following definitions apply in this Order.

“Commodity Board” means the Grain Farmers of Ontario. (Office)

“grain” means any combination of grain corn, soybeans and any variety of wheat that are produced in Ontario. (grain)

“grain corn” means corn, other than seed corn, sweet corn or popping corn. (maïs-grain)

“Supervisory Board” means the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission. (Organisme de surveillance)

INTERPROVINCIAL AND EXPORT TRADE

2. The Commodity Board and the Supervisory Board are authorized to regulate the marketing of grain in interprovincial and export trade and, for that purpose, with respect to persons and property situated within Ontario, to exercise all or any powers like the powers exercisable by them in relation to the marketing of grain locally within the province.

LEVIES AND CHARGES

3. The Commodity Board and the Supervisory Board, in relation to the powers granted to them by section 2 with respect to interprovincial and export trade, are authorized to

COMING INTO FORCE

4. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issues and objectives

The Agricultural Products Marketing Act (APMA), which was enacted in 1949, facilitates interprovincial and export trade by authorizing provincial commodity boards (see footnote 1) to regulate the marketing (see footnote 2) of commodities in interprovincial and export trade markets to the same extent that they regulate marketing in intraprovincial trade (e.g. the collection of levies and charges and/or any other marketing activity for which the commodity board has been delegated the powers by their respective provincial government).

The Ontario Grain Order is needed to facilitate interprovincial and export trade, by extending the same powers that Grain Farmers of Ontario (commodity board) currently exercises within its province in intraprovincial trade. Currently, the commodity board requesting a delegation order cannot benefit from the delegated authority that facilitates interprovincial and export trade.

The granting of the Ontario Grain Order under the APMA will allow the commodity board to apply the provisions set out in the provincial marketing scheme in interprovincial and export trade markets. The Ontario Grain Order will also provide greater funding to the commodity board by allowing the collection of levies and charges in interprovincial and export trade that will allow them to broaden the collective services, which will include

Furthermore, it is anticipated that the revenue of the commodity board will increase as a result of being able to collect levies and charges on product(s) sold on the interprovincial and export trade market.

The objectives of this regulatory action are to

Producers will be required to comply with the provisions as set out in their existing provincial marketing plan for all transactions in intraprovincial trade (e.g. all persons engaged in the production of commodities to register with a commodity board, to pay registration fees and charges for services rendered by a commodity board, to pay a levy, and to pay penalties). In turn, the provisions set out in their provincial marketing plan will apply to transactions in interprovincial and export trade.

Description and rationale

Grain Farmers of Ontario is the industry organization representing Ontario grain producers of grain corn, soy beans and any other variety of wheat. They work closely with producers, processors, industry groups and other provincial producer organizations to support promotion and research that contribute to improved production and marketing opportunities.

The objectives of the commodity board are

The Ontario Grain Order will allow the commodity board to reach their objectives and

The Ontario Grain Order will

The Ontario Grain Order will ensure the fair and equitable collection of funds for the interprovincial and export trade portion of the commodity boards’ business. The Ontario Grain Order will apply to the designated product(s) moving in interprovincial and export trade.

It is important to note that this proposal will not create any new powers for commodity boards beyond providing them with the powers in interprovincial and export trade that they currently possess in intraprovincial trade. Federal delegation orders are not granted to a commodity board if they do not already have some power of regulating already granted to them by their provincial government as stated in subsection 2(1) of the Agricultural Products Marketing Act.

Currently, 82 delegation orders have been delegated to provincial commodity boards and all operate under a provincial marketing plan. This regulatory proposal will encourage interprovincial and export trade, by extending the existing powers that the commodity board currently exercises within the province.

Consultation

The commodity board received 100% of the support of producers during their annual meeting. The provincial supervisory board and provincial department of agriculture were also consulted and fully support this initiative. This regulatory proposal will not alter the current regulatory approval process for putting in place a delegation order or making any amendments thereto.

This regulatory proposal is not controversial in nature. No groups, organizations or individuals have opposed any new orders made pursuant to the APMA in the past. In the last six years, consultations regarding the APMA have also proven to be very positive.

The proposed Order was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on April 27, 2013, followed by a comment period of 30 days. No comments were received.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs on small business.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The commodity board is responsible for the administration of the Ontario Grain Order and, therefore, must comply with the requirements of the Act, subsection 2(1), which states the following: “The Governor in Council may, by order, grant authority to any board or agency authorized under the law of any province to exercise powers of regulation in relation to the marketing of any agricultural product locally within the province, to regulate the marketing of that agricultural product in interprovincial and export trade and for those purposes to exercise all or any powers like the powers exercisable by the board or agency in relation to the marketing of that agricultural product locally within the province.”

The commodity board will set the levy amount for the upcoming year and approve any changes to their provincial regulations during their annual meeting. Amendments are voted on by producers and are implemented by the commodity board for that year. The information regarding these changes is then disseminated in various ways to ensure compliance information is available with such orders (e.g. Publication in provincial Gazette and/or approval of orders by a supervisory board and/or publication of information in their newsletter and/or on the commodity board’s Web site).

Primary contact

Laurent Pellerin
Chairman
Farm Products Council of Canada
Telephone: 613-759-1560

Secondary contact

Marc Chamaillard
Director
Corporate Operations and Regulations
Farm Products Council of Canada
Telephone: 613-759-1706