Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal 1 Stone Road West
Tribunal d’appel de l’agriculture, de l’alimentation et des affaires rurales 1, chemin Stone Ouest
Guelph, (Ontario) N1G 4Y2 Tel: (519) 826-3433, Fax: (519) 826-4232 Email: appeals.tribunal.omafra@ontario.ca
Guelph (Ontario) N1G 4Y2 Tél.: (519) 826-3433, Téléc.: (519) 826-4232 Courriel: appeals.tribunal.omafra@ontario.ca
AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS APPEAL TRIBUNAL
APPEAL:
National Farmers Union – Ontario Accreditation
NFU-O Accreditation (RE) [Decision without Reasons] 2012 ONAFRAAT 41
STATUTE:
Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993
HEARING:
December 14, 2012
December 19, 2012
2012-41
NEUTRAL CITATION:
2012 ONAFRAAT 41
National Farmers Union – Ontario Accreditation [Decision without Reasons]
IN THE MATTER OF: SECTIONS 4 AND 5 OF THE FARM REGISTRATION AND FARM ORGANIZATIONS FUNDING ACT, 1993.
AND IN THE MATTER OF: An application to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal by the National Farmers Union - Ontario (NFU-O) for accreditation under Subsection 4(1) of the Act.
Before: Nicholas Richter, Vice-Chair; Jane Sadler Richards, Member; Mary Field, Member
Appearances:
Sean P. Bawden, Counsel for the NFU-O
Ann Slater, Ontario Coordinator/President, NFU-O
Sarah Bakker, Office Administrator, NFU-O
Kristopher Crawford-Dickinson, Counsel for the Minister
DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
This application was heard by the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) on July 18 and December 14, 2012, in the Tribunal Boardroom, Guelph, Ontario. The National Farmers Union - Ontario (the “NFU-O”) applied to the Tribunal to become an accredited farm organization pursuant to section 4(1) of the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 (the “Act”).
The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (the “Minister”) has a statutory right to make submissions at an accreditation hearing pursuant to sections 4(4) and 5(2) of the Act. The Minister did not appear at the hearing on July 18, 2012, and initially took no position on the NFU-O’s application for accreditation. The Minister did appear at the hearing on December 14, 2012, in support of the NFU-O’s application.
At the conclusion of the hearing on December 14, 2012, counsel urged the Tribunal to release its decision immediately because the annual farming business registration forms referred to in section 21 of the Act need to be finalized and printed in time for mailing in early January 2013. The forms cannot be finalized until the Tribunal determines whether the NFU-O will be accredited under the Act. Given this timing, the Tribunal has decided to release its decision today without reasons. Full written reasons for the decision will be released as soon as they become available.
Order of the Tribunal
For reasons to follow, the Tribunal orders that the NFU-O’s application for accreditation is hereby dismissed.
Dated at Hamilton, Ontario this 19th day of December, 2012.