OAFRAAT 1998

The appellant appealed the decision of AGRICORP concerning the adjustment of loss under the Crop Insurance Plan for Apples following hail damage to his orchard.

The appellant argued that the plan was unfair, complex, and provided inadequate protection, noting that his payout was only 51% of the damage.

The Tribunal found that AGRICORP had calculated the claim settlement in accordance with the policy purchased by the appellant.

As the Tribunal only has authority to adjust the amount of settlement and the calculation was correct under the contract, the appeal was dismissed, though the Tribunal recommended AGRICORP review and improve the plan.

The City of Port Colborne applied to the Tribunal to rescind a 1987 order requiring the installation of a low lift pumping station on the Point Abino Drain.

The City and the Town of Fort Erie did not wish to proceed with the work and requested that costs to date be assessed pro rata.

The Tribunal found it lacked sufficient information to make a decision and ordered the City to circulate a notice to all affected landowners inviting written submissions on the engineer's report and the payment of costs.

Niagara Country Fresh Poultry Inc. appealed a decision by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario denying its request for an allocation of supply of chicken for processing for crop Quota Period A-20.

Niagara, a new entrant, had requested 1.6 million kilograms.

The Tribunal considered the industry's capacity, the ongoing review of the allocation process, and the history of granting supply to new entrants.

The Tribunal directed the CFO to allot 100,000 kilograms for the domestic market and 200,000 kilograms for the export market to Niagara for Quota Period A-20.

The Township of Adelaide applied to the Tribunal to modify a municipal by-law concerning the Sutherland Drain, based on a revised engineer's report requested by a ratepayer.

The proposed modification involved repairing the drain and stabilizing the banks in their present location rather than moving the drain bank.

The Tribunal approved the requested amendments to the by-law on terms, directing the engineer to amend the plan and profile and the Township to notify affected owners.

The appellant, a registered chicken producer, appealed a decision of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) finding that it had produced and marketed 7,567 kilograms of chicken without quota, failed to report chicks placed, and failed to pay license fees.

The CFO had imposed a penalty reducing the appellant's future crop quota by five times the amount of the unreported chicken and assessed levies of $933.37.

The Tribunal heard conflicting evidence regarding whether the appellant had shipped illegal chicken to an abattoir.

The Tribunal found the evidence of the abattoir's bookkeeper and the redirected payment cheques to be credible, concluding that the appellant did ship the unreported chicken.

Finding no mitigating circumstances, the Tribunal upheld the CFO's findings and the five-fold penalty, dismissing the appeal.

The appellants, dairy farmers, appealed a decision not to cancel a milk sample test result that led to a penalty for having a freezing point of -0.522 degrees Hortvet, indicating excess water.

The appellants argued there was no financial incentive to add water and suspected a problem with the sampling dipper.

The Tribunal found no evidence of errors in the sampling or testing procedures and upheld the Director's decision to let the test result stand, while recommending that producers be better informed about new freezing point testing procedures.

The appellants appealed a decision of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board which reduced their basic production quota by 50% for selling tobacco outside the Board's auction exchange.

The appellants admitted to the illegal sales but sought leniency on compassionate grounds due to severe family health and financial stress.

The Tribunal found that while the breach was a serious offense requiring a significant deterrent, the circumstances warranted compassion.

The Tribunal partially granted the appeal, reducing the penalty to a 40% cancellation of the appellants' basic quota to allow them a better opportunity to remain viable tobacco producers.

The Association of Ontario Chicken Processors appealed a decision by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario to allocate 450,000 kg of chicken to Farm Fresh Poultry Co-op Inc. for Quota Period A-19 and 550,000 kg for Quota Period A-20.

The Tribunal found that the CFO did not follow normal practice and that the allocation for A-20 was premature.

The Tribunal directed the CFO to set the A-19 allocation at 382,000 kg and revoked the A-20 allocation.

Niagara Country Fresh Poultry Inc., a new entrant building a chicken processing facility, appealed a decision by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario denying its request for an allocation of 1.6 million kilograms of live chicken for Quota Period A-19.

The Tribunal upheld the denial, finding that granting such a large initial allocation to a plant not yet operational would be irresponsible and disruptive to the industry, especially while a review of the supply setting mechanism was underway.

The Township of North Dorchester applied to the Tribunal under s. 58(4) of the Drainage Act to amend By-law 10-97 to reflect the as-constructed Finch Drain Branch 'A'.

During construction, it was discovered that the new tile drain needed to be longer than estimated, increasing the cost.

The engineer prepared an addendum report, which was circulated without objection.

The Tribunal approved the requested amendments on terms, ordering the engineer to modify the addendum report and plan, and the Township to modify and circulate the by-law.

The Town of Niagara on the Lake applied to the Tribunal for an order amending By-law 2648-93, which adopted a report for the repair and improvement of the Routh Municipal Drain.

Following an appeal by affected landowners regarding the construction of the Mazur Branch, the Town and the landowners entered into an agreement detailing future maintenance responsibilities.

The Tribunal exercised its authority under section 51(1) of the Drainage Act to order the Town to prepare and enact an amending by-law incorporating the terms of the agreement, which will supersede the original maintenance provisions where they conflict.

The Corporation of the Township of Gosfield North applied under section 76 of the Drainage Act for permission to appoint an engineer to procure a report to vary the assessment for the Irwin Drain.

The Township of Mersea, the other affected municipality, had no objections.

The Tribunal granted the application.

The appellant appealed a decision allowing a positive inhibitor test result on a milk sample from its farm to stand.

The appellant argued that the sample collection and handling by the bulk tank milk grader was improper, suggesting the grader's son may have contaminated or switched the sample.

The Tribunal found no evidence to support the appellant's theory and concluded there was no doubt the milk in the bulk tank contained inhibitors.

The appeal was denied, and the penalties and costs assessed were upheld.

The appellant, a chicken producer, appealed a decision of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario finding that he had violated marketing regulations by producing and marketing 139,010 kilograms of unreported chicken.

The Board had assessed license fees and levies and cancelled all of his basic production quota.

The Tribunal found clear evidence that the appellant participated in a scheme to shave weights and market unreported chicken.

However, noting this was a first offence, the Tribunal found the penalty too severe and reduced it to a cancellation of 50% of the appellant's basic quota units, while upholding the assessment of $61,391.87 in fees and levies.

The appellant appealed the engineer's report and the decision of the Court of Revision regarding the proposed Watson Drain under the Drainage Act.

The appellant argued that the benefits were not commensurate with the costs, the work should be modified, and his assessment was too high.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeals, finding that the appellant provided no evidence to support modifying the work or challenging the cost-benefit ratio.

The Tribunal confirmed the assessments as modified by the Court of Revision, finding them fair and appropriate based on the acreage draining into the proposed drain.

The appellant, Jarvis Chick Sales Inc., appealed the amount of penalties imposed by the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission for late payments.

At the commencement of the hearing, the appellant's representative advised the Tribunal that the parties had reached a negotiated settlement.

Consequently, the appellant withdrew the appeal.

The Tribunal accepted the withdrawal and commended the parties for resolving the issue.