Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal
Appeal: OFA Re-Accreditation 2015 Neutral Citation: 2015 ONAFRAAT 11 File No.: 2015-11 Date of Decision: July 10, 2015 Hearing: June 25, 2015
Statute: Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993
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 Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) under Subsection 4(2) of the Act for renewal of its accreditation.
Before: Marthanne Robson, Vice-Chair Glenn Walker, Vice-Chair Maurice Janisse, Member
Appearances: Neil Currie - General Manager, OFA Jon Lazarus – Director of Finance and Administration, OFA
DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
Background
This matter was heard by the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (Tribunal) in Guelph, Ontario on June 25, 2015. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (the OFA) applied to the Tribunal for renewal of its accreditation as a farm organization pursuant to section 4(2) of the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 (the Act). The OFA was last accredited as a farm organization in 2012 for a three-year period commencing December 6, 2012.
Since the OFA was last accredited, Ontario Regulation 723/93 as amended by Ontario Regulation 363/12 was further amended by Ontario Regulation 292/13 and Ontario Regulation 50/14. Therefore, the new criteria for accreditation and reaccreditation as set out in Ontario Regulation 723/93 and amended by Ontario Regulation 50/14, (Appendix 1) are the criteria that will be used to determine whether the OFA qualifies for renewal of its accreditation.
Every Registered Farm Business in Ontario is required to pay a prescribed fee of $195 (s.3(2) of the Regulation) to an accredited farm organization (s.21(1) of the Act). Payment is made via Agricorp. The funds are forwarded to the accredited farm organization selected by the registered farm business and a farm business registration (FBR) number is assigned.
Application by the OFA
The OFA filed evidence and also provided oral submissions in support of its application. The Tribunal’s findings with respect to the OFA’s written and oral submissions are outlined below following each of the criteria provided in Ontario Regulation 723/93 as amended by Ontario Regulation 50/14.
5(2) 1. It is incorporated under a general or special Act of the Legislature.
The Letters Patent submitted by the OFA clearly stipulate that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is a not-for-profit corporation under the Statues of Ontario. This was completed on August 23, 1956.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
5(2) 2. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.
The OFA’s by-law stipulates its election policy which is to be approved by the Board and details on how the OFA Board of Directors are elected. The By-law also provides a process to replace Directors who vacate the office by appointment or by-elections. The Board of Directors consists of 18 members. The 15 Zone Directors are elected by members within their respective zones and three Directors are elected at-large. These Directors are elected at the annual meeting. Board terms last three years.
The zone election process starts with a mail-in nomination. Each person nominated must have the support of two local members. Once nominations are closed, ballots can be cast by mail-in, phone in or delivered to an all candidates meeting hosted by the local zone county.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
5(2) 3. Its purpose is to represent persons carrying on all types of farming businesses.
The Tribunal is satisfied that the OFA meets this criterion and represents a broad spectrum of farming interests within Ontario. The OFA mission statement states, “The OFA will create and enhance a business environment that enables profitable and sustainable farming.” The OFA does not have a policy that restricts membership in any way by the type of farm or farm product produced. It represents all types of farming businesses in Ontario. AgriCorp data shows that OFA members produce 80 different agricultural products. The smallest commodity represented by the OFA is ratites at six members whereas the largest is corn producers at 34,578 members.
5(2) 4. The fee required for membership in the farm organization, or for a class of membership in the organization, consists of the payment to the farm organization of the amount that is payable under subsection 21(1) of the Act and prescribed under subsection 3(2).
The current prescribed membership fee for the OFA is the same as the amount payable for farm business registration. The membership fee is $195.00 plus HST in accordance with the Regulation.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
5(2) 5. At least 250 farming businesses that hold registration numbers under the Act have,
i. Become supporters of the farm organization, or ii. In the case of a farm organization that is not accredited, paid a fee of at least $195 to the farm organization.
As of December 31, 2014, the OFA had 36,654 supporters. Using the Dufferin County Federation of Agriculture as an example, the list submitted had 427 members.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met by the OFA.
5(2) 6. The majority of its supporters are farming businesses described in clause (a) of the definition of “supporter” in subsection (1).
Individual farm members, registered farm business members and Agricultural /Commodity Organization Members are all supporters of the OFA. As of December 31, 2014 the OFA had 36,654 farm businesses, 952 individual farm members and 295 agricultural/commodity organizational members. The farm businesses represent 97% of the supporter base. The OFA has instituted a new membership process whereby farm businesses that have directed their fee to the OFA are asked to sign a membership agreement if they want to become a voting member of the OFA.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
5(2) 7. It has at least 12 local branches located in Ontario and contributes to its local branches at least 10 percent of the part of its gross revenue for any given year that is received from payments made under section 21 of the Act and is determined before taxes, excluding any refunds that may be paid under subsection 21(8) of the Act.
The OFA has 52 local branches.
The OFA pays more than 10% of the gross revenue obtained from the farm business registration fee to its local branches. The current policy is to pay $30 per individual in the supporter /membership categories. $30 of the prescribed fee of $195 equates to 15.4%. Additional payments for the Individual Farm Memberships and Associates brings the percentile to 15.8%.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 8. Each local branch of the farm organization meets the following requirements:
i. It represents at least 10 farming businesses described in paragraph 5. ii. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances. iii. It holds an annual general meeting. iv. It is entitled to send a representative to any meeting of the farm organization to which local branches are invited to send representatives.
The lists submitted by the OFA indicated the number of supporters/members in each of the local branches. This also demonstrated that each local branch exceeds the threshold of at least 10 farming businesses. Each branch elects a President, Secretary, regional OFA director and Policy Advisory council representative. The OFA submitted declarations that each branch held an annual meeting and election of board of directors.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 9. It has an established process that allows farming businesses that are supporters of the farm organization and have a registration number under the Act to make submissions to the farm organization on any relevant issue, and that requires the farm organization to consider the submissions and respond.
According to the OFA policy, resolutions can be submitted to any Board of Director’s agenda or at the Annual General Meeting. The Resolution Policy sets out the process for filing resolutions with the OFA and outlines the OFA’s obligation to address the resolution. The outcomes of resolutions are reported back to the members and supporters at least every six months.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 10. It has entered into a written agreement with the Minister and with other farm organizations to provide special funding to the francophone organization that is eligible for special funding under section 12 or 13 of the Act.
As of December 2007, the OFA has had an agreement with the Minister, the Christian Farmer’s Federation of Ontario, the National Farmers Union - Ontario and l’Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens (UCFO) which is the only eligible Francophone organization. There is no expiry date to this agreement. A new agreement is in the process of being signed by the same parties.
The OFA continues to fund the UCFO at the rate of 1.5% of the net farm business registration. A sample of a payment to the UCFO was submitted by the OFA.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 11. It prepares audited financial statements in accordance with subsection (4) and makes them available to the public within 30 days of its annual general meetings and, if the Tribunal has held any hearings under the Act, it submitted a copy of its most recent audited financial statements to the Tribunal before the hearing began.
The audited financial statement for August 31, 2013 and August 31, 2014 were prepared in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as required under subsection 5(4) 4. The financial statements are posted on the OFA’s public website shortly after acceptance at the Annual General Meeting.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 12. It has developed a written service standard setting out the rules applicable to applications for, and the timing and processing of, refunds under subsection 21(8) of the Act and the service standard is available to the public upon request.
The AgriCorp web page describes how a farm business registrant can obtain a refund from the general farm organization. The OFA has also adopted a Refund Policy. Refund requests can be sent via letter, fax, or e-mail. The request must have the name, address and FBR number. The requests will only be issued after a valid payment was received. Other issues such as when refunds are made, the date upon which the request is accepted, the voting rights and privileges and the return of the membership card are included in the policy.
The Tribunal is satisfied that this criterion has been met.
5(2) 13. Provides education or training in agricultural matters.
The OFA’s web page is a major source of education and useful information for members and non-members. Fact sheets presented as examples are, Farm Trucks, Farm ATV/ORV Use, Farm Implements on the Road, Trailer Towing Checklist, Farm Property Assessment Issues, Rural Ontario Grows with Natural Gas.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
5(2) 14. Provides advice and analysis to governments, administrative tribunals or advisory bodies concerning agricultural issues and the development of programs or policies that are of interest to persons carrying on farming businesses.
The OFA’s vision is as “an advocate for Ontario farmers”. Most recent papers submitted to various ministries include OFA response to OMAFRA guidelines of permitted uses, OFA response to Proposed Neonicotinoid Regulations, OFA submission on Bill 66, and OFA responses to Ontario’s Climate Change Discussion Paper. These are just a few examples of papers submitted to various government agencies.
The Tribunal is satisfied this criterion has been met.
Overall Finding
Based on the evidence filed and the submissions made, the Tribunal finds the OFA met all the prescribed criteria for re-accreditation as a farm organization.
Order
Based on the above stated findings, it is the decision of the Tribunal that the OFA be re-accredited as a farm organization under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 for a period of three years commencing December 6, 2015.
Dated at Ottawa, Ontario, this 10th day of July, 2015
Appendix 1
- (1) In this section,
“supporter”, with respect to a farm organization, means,
(a) any farming business that has made a payment under section 21 (1) of the Act to the organization and has not requested a refund of the payment under subsection 21 (8) of the Act, whether or not the farming business is a member of the organization, and
(b) any person or entity that is not a farming business required to file a farming business registration form under section 2 of the Act and that is a member of the organization. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).
(2) A farm organization qualifies for accreditation if it meets the following criteria:
It is incorporated under a general or special Act of the Legislature.
Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.
Its purpose is to represent persons carrying on all types of farming businesses and it is willing to represent a farming business no matter what types of crops, livestock, poultry or other agricultural products may be produced by the farming business.
The fee required for membership in the farm organization, or for a class of membership in the organization, consists of the payment to the farm organization of the amount that is payable under subsection 21 (1) of the Act and prescribed under subsection 3 (2).
At least 250 farming businesses that hold registration numbers under the Act have,
i. become supporters of the farm organization, or
ii. in the case of a farm organization that is not accredited, paid a fee of at least $195 to the farm organization.
The majority of its supporters are farming businesses described in clause (a) of the definition of “supporter” in subsection (1).
It has at least 12 local branches located in Ontario and contributes to its local branches at least 10 percent of the part of its gross revenue for any given year that is received from payments made under section 21 of the Act and is determined before taxes, excluding any refunds that may be paid under subsection 21 (8) of the Act.
Each local branch of the farm organization meets the following requirements:
i. It represents at least 10 farming businesses described in paragraph 5.
ii. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.
iii. It holds an annual general meeting.
iv. It is entitled to send a representative to any meeting of the farm organization to which local branches are invited to send representatives.
It has an established process that allows farming businesses that are supporters of the farm organization and have a registration number under the Act to make submissions to the farm organization on any relevant issue, and that requires the farm organization to consider the submissions and respond.
Subject to subsection (3), it has entered into a written agreement with the Minister and with other farm organizations to provide special funding to the francophone organization that is eligible for special funding under section 12 or 13 of the Act.
It prepares audited financial statements in accordance with subsection (4) and makes them available to the public within 30 days of its annual general meetings and, if the Tribunal has held any hearings under the Act, it submitted a copy of its most recent audited financial statements to the Tribunal before the hearing began.
In the case of an accredited farm organization, it has developed a written service standard setting out the rules applicable to applications for, and the timing and processing of, refunds under subsection 21 (8) of the Act and the service standard is available to the public upon request.
Provides education or training in agricultural matters.
Provides advice and analysis to governments, administrative tribunals or advisory bodies concerning agricultural issues and the development of programs or policies that are of interest to persons carrying on farming businesses. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).
- The requirement to enter into an agreement described in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) does not apply to a farm organization if,
(a) the farm organization is an accredited organization and has agreed in writing to enter into an agreement referred to in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) before July 1, 2015; or
(b) the farm organization is not an accredited organization at the time it applies to the Tribunal for accreditation and has agreed in writing to enter into an agreement referred to in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) promptly upon receiving its accreditation. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).
Note: On July 1, 2015, subsection (3) is revoked and the following substituted: (See: O. Reg. 50/14, ss. 5 (2), 8 (3))
(3) The requirement to enter into an agreement described in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) does not apply to a farm organization if that farm organization,
(a) is not accredited at the time it applies to the Tribunal for accreditation; and
(b) has agreed in writing to enter into an agreement described in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) promptly upon receiving its accreditation. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (2).
(4) An audited financial statement shall include:
The total amount received by the farm organization under subsection 21 (3) of the Act in the year.
The number of refunds paid by the farm organization under subsection 21 (8) of the Act and the total amount of those refunds.
The amount contributed by the farm organization to its local branches.
Financial statements and an auditor’s report prepared by an auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).