OAFRAAT 2003

The appellant, Georgian Bay Milk Company, appealed decisions by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission that effectively shut down its export milk business following a WTO ruling against Canada's commercial export milk mechanism.

The Tribunal found that the WTO did not rule on whether non-quota holders were subsidized and ordered the DFO and OFPMC to submit the appellant's proposed unsubsidized export milk program to the federal government for review.

The Tribunal also granted the appellant an interim exemption to continue operating and allowed its milk to be transported in segregated trucks.

The City of Kingston applied to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal for permission to procure an engineer's report to vary the assessments on the Central Pittsburgh Drain under section 76 of the Drainage Act.

The application was prompted by landowner concerns regarding maintenance costs and changing agricultural practices.

The Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands did not object, provided its landowners' assessments remained unaffected.

The Tribunal granted the application, noting that municipalities cannot impose conditions on the engineer's independent duties under section 11 of the Act.

The appellant appealed the engineer's report regarding the Hanna Municipal Drain, arguing against the proposed working space for maintenance on his property and suggesting alternative routes.

The Tribunal found the engineer's proposed design and route to be the only suitable one, but ordered the drain to follow a more southerly route across the appellant's property to minimize future development issues.

The Tribunal also upheld the engineer's calculations for the property allowance and ordered specific dimensions for the working space.

The Municipality of Thames Centre requested a review of the Tribunal's previous decision regarding the Walker Drain Improvement.

The Tribunal considered three alternative routes for the drain.

It ordered the drain to be reconstructed generally along its original route (Alternative C), finding it to be the lowest cost functional solution.

The Tribunal also ordered the engineer to vary the assessment methodology, allocating 35-40% of statutory benefit to roads and 60-65% to residential lands, and allowed direct appeals to the Tribunal from the revised engineer's report.

The appellants appealed the decision of the Court of Revision and the Engineer's Report regarding a municipal drain.

In a previous interim order, the Tribunal added the Province of Ontario as a party representing property owners in Quebec.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food submitted that the Tribunal lacked authority to do so.

The Tribunal affirmed its interim decision and ordered the parties to file written submissions on the proper method of assessing the costs of the drainage works attributable to lands in Quebec.

The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) brought a pre-hearing motion to limit or define the scope of a stay resulting from an appeal by Georgian Bay Milk Company (GBMC).

GBMC brought a motion to require DFO to produce all relevant documents.

Canada Milk Inc. also requested to be added as a party.

The Tribunal denied Canada Milk Inc.'s request for party status, finding insufficient commonality with GBMC.

The Tribunal dismissed DFO's motion to limit the stay, finding that lifting it would cause irreparable harm to GBMC before the appeal could be heard on its merits.

The Tribunal ordered DFO to produce the requested documents and set a schedule for the exchange of materials.

The Municipality of Southwest Middlesex and an assessed landowner appealed under section 64 of the Drainage Act regarding the quality of construction of the Elliott Municipal Drain.

The contractor installed the tile drain below the specified grade, reducing the freeboard at the outlet.

The Tribunal found that reconstructing the drain was impractical and ordered the municipality to amend the by-law to reflect the as-constructed condition.

The contractor was ordered to pay $1,000 for the increased cost of future maintenance and $1,600 for the engineer's costs associated with investigating the non-compliance.

The appellants appealed a decision by AGRICORP to deny them crop insurance coverage for five years and to require the repayment of previously settled claims due to alleged misrepresentation of crop yields.

During the hearing, the parties reached a settlement.

The Tribunal adopted the minutes of settlement, which rescinded the five-year ban and the repayment requirement, but rendered the appellants ineligible for crop insurance for the 2003 crop year.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Dairy Farmers of Ontario refusing to change its plan for complying with a WTO ruling on milk export practices.

The respondent brought a motion to limit the scope of the automatic stay of its decision, and the appellant requested an adjournment of the hearing.

On consent of both parties, the Tribunal ordered that the automatic stay be suspended as it affects these parties and granted the adjournment.

The appellant appealed the decision of the Court of Revision and the revised engineer's report regarding the Klijn Drain under sections 48 and 54 of the Drainage Act.

The appellant argued that the proposed drainage works did not drain the total watershed and objected to special benefit assessments for engineering work on a proposed extension.

The Tribunal found that the drainage works described in the report were appropriate and that the engineer could not extend the drain upstream without a valid petition.

The Tribunal also upheld the assessments, finding them equitable and justified, and dismissed the appeals.

The appellant, International Dairy Direct - Broker Agent (IDDBA), appealed a decision by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) refusing to endorse IDDBA's proposed milk export plan.

The DFO had re-regulated the Ontario dairy industry to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against subsidized Canadian milk exports.

IDDBA sought approval for a plan to broker over-quota milk for export to the United States.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding that the proposed plan was not clearly defined, lacked firm agreements, and would negatively impact Ontario's supply management system by encouraging over-quota production.

The Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board brought a motion requesting the Tribunal refuse to hear an appeal by a tobacco grower regarding a request to transfer Basic Production Quota with marketing quota attached.

The Tribunal found that the grower had not completed the required quota transfer application forms, and therefore had not made an application for a hearing to the Board as required by subsection 16(5) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act.

The Tribunal concluded it had no authority to hear the appeal and granted the Board's motion.

The appellant filed an appeal regarding a crop insurance claim more than a year after filing the proof of loss.

At a pre-hearing conference, the respondent moved to dismiss the appeal as out of time and alternatively sought an indefinite adjournment because the appellant was under police investigation for fraud related to the claim.

The Tribunal adjourned the decision on the time limit extension to the full hearing panel and granted a postponement of the hearing pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

International Dairy Direct – Broker Agent (IDDBA) appealed a decision of the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) refusing to endorse IDDBA's proposed milk export plan.

IDDBA sought to export over-quota milk to the United States in compliance with a World Trade Organization ruling.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding that the proposed plan would negatively impact Ontario's supply management system, was not clearly defined, and that the DFO's refusal was not prejudicial or inconsistent with its policies.