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 Stone Road West
Guelph, Ontario, N1G 4Y2 Tel: (519) 826-3433, Fax: (519) 826-4232 Email: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
Guelph (Ontario) N1G 4Y2 Tél.: (519) 826-3433, Téléc.: (519) 826-4232 Courriel: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS APPEAL TRIBUNAL
APPEAL:
CFFO Re-Accreditation 2018
CFFO Re-Accreditation 2018 (RE) 2018 ONAFRAAT 15
STATUTE:
Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993
HEARING:
September 28, 2018
October 26, 2018
2018-14
NEUTRAL CITATION:
2018 ONAFRAAT 15
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 Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario under Subsection 4(2) of the Act for renewal of its accreditation
Before:
John O’Kane, Vice-Chair; Sarah Judd, Member and Lee Holling, Member
Appearances:
Frances Pitkin, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Office Manager
Clarence Nywening, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, President
RE-ACCREDITATION 2018
Background
The Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 (the “Act”) created a process for accreditation and renewal of accreditation for organizations representing farmers in the province. Generally, a farm organization can apply for renewal under the Act every three years.
In addition, under the Act farm businesses can apply for registration and obtain a “Farm Business Registration” (“FBR”) number which is required for farming properties to receive beneficial property tax treatment. When a farm business applies for an FBR number, it is required to pay a prescribed fee to one of the accredited farming organizations.
The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (“CFFO”) was last accredited as a farm organization July 10, 2015 for a three year period.
The renewal of accreditation process comes before the Tribunal under the Act as it is prescribed that the Tribunal “shall hold a hearing before determining whether” an organization’s accreditation is renewed. The Act provides that if the Tribunal determines that a farm organization meets the “prescribed criteria”, the Tribunal “shall, by order, accredit” the organization. The prescribed criteria have been established in Ontario Regulation 723/93 (“regulation”).
The CFFO is a statutory party to the application hearing before the Tribunal and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (the “Minister”) and the other accredited farm organizations in the province all receive notice of any application for accreditation or re-accreditation under the Act and have a statutory right to attend the accreditation hearing and make submissions.
As these reasons explain, CFFO has met the conditions and criteria and accordingly, the Tribunal will order the renewal of CFFO’s accreditation for a further three-year period.
The Conditions, Criteria and Evidence
Clarence Nywening, President of CFFO gave an opening statement in which he reviewed in detail the various activities of the organization which support the criteria set out in the regulations. Frances Pitkin, Office Manager of CCFO also gave evidence providing further particulars of these activities and adopted Clarence Nywening’s presentation.
No other party entitled to notice of the application for re-accreditation attended or participated in the accreditation hearing.
None of the CFFO’s evidence was challenged.
The evidence in support of the criteria is summarized as follows:
On July 10, 2015, the Tribunal issued an order that the CFFO be “re-accredited
as a farm organization” under Sections 4 and 5 of the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993, “for a period of three years commencing December 6, 2015”.
Subsection 4(2) of the Act requires a farm organization to apply for renewal of its accreditation “during the period prescribed”.
Section 6 of Ontario Regulation 723/93 establishes the “prescribed period” for renewal applications as “no sooner than nine months and no later than six months before the expiry of its accreditation”.
Therefore, based on the previous re-accreditation order of the Tribunal, the CFFO’s window to apply for renewal of its accreditation is from March 6, 2018 to June 6, 2018.
The CFFO applied to the Tribunal to renew its accreditation on June 1, 2018 and accordingly the Tribunal determines that criterion satisfied.
The CFFO submitted copies of its Letters Patent issued by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations under the Corporations Act on June 26, 1991. A copy of the Letters Patent was submitted to the Tribunal as evidence. The Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the incorporated status criterion.
The CFFO submitted copies of By-Law No. 1 and 2: this provides for the election of the Board of Directors referred to as the “Executive Board” in Article IV. Article III provides for “Annual Meetings” setting out the nomination and election procedures. Based on the evidence submitted entitled Minutes of Annual Meetings held November 29, 2016, March 28, 2017 and March 27, 2018, the CFFO satisfied the democratic board election criterion.
The corporate objectives outlined in the Letters Patent and the Statement of Purpose from Bylaw No. 1 last revised November 26, 2016, together with the 2018 Aggregate Data evidence supplied by the CFFO, the CFFO represents a wide base of farming businesses. Based on those two documents, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the corporate purpose criterion.
The CFFO submitted copies of its materials from its Annual Meeting of March 27, 2018 relating to the membership fee. The CFFO set a membership fee of $225 plus HST. Based on the evidence received, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the prescribed membership fee criteria.
In 2016 CFFO had 4,001 Farm Business Registrations (FBR); in 2017 CFFO had 3,993 FBR’s and in 2018 had over 3,900 FBR’s. Based on the supporter/member list evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the criterion of having at least 250 supporter/member farming businesses under the Act.
The CFFO submitted its membership by-law that created one class of CFFO membership. The CFFO by-law does recognize that supporters are welcome; however, they are not eligible to vote on any resolutions put before the members. The supporters come from personal memberships which are given to those who are not required to be part of the Farm Business Registration Program. The majority of its supporters are farming businesses described in clause (a) of the definition of supporter in Section 5, subsection (1). The CFFO in 2018 had 3,939 supporters; 3,916 held FBR registrations under the Act and 23 did not hold registrations under the Act. Based on all that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the criterion that a majority (99%) of its supporters are farming businesses as required by paragraph 6 in subsection 5(2) of the regulation.
The CFFO submitted a list of its local branches throughout the province of which there are 20 branches. The CFFO submitted its most recently audited Financial Statements which confirmed that it contributed over $77,949 to its local branches in 2017.
Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the greater than 12 branches in Ontario and the branch funding criteria.
The CFFO submitted a signed declaration from each of the 20 local branches confirming that each branch represents at least ten farming businesses, that the local branch board is elected, that the local branch holds an annual general meeting and that the local branch is entitled to send representation to any meeting of the CFFO to which its local branches are invited to send representatives. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the democratic local branch criteria.
The CFFO submitted testimony and documents illustrating how its supporters/members have opportunity for input on relevant issues and how the CFFO considers and responds to such input. The CFFO guarantees the right of members to have their submissions on relevant issues of concern to be considered and responded to by the CFFO Executive Board. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the supporter/member input processes criteria.
The CFFO submitted evidence that it has a written agreement with the Minister and the other accredited farm organizations to provide special funding to the Francophone farm organization entitled to special funding under the Act. The CFFO produced a copy of the June 26, 2015 multi-party agreement as well as its audited Financial Statements that reflect the amount of funds directed to the Francophone farm organization entitled to the special funding. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the Francophone agreement/funding criterion.
Prior to the re-accreditation hearing, the CFFO submitted to the Tribunal a copy of its most recent audited Financial Statements. The testimony of the CFFO confirmed that it publicly publishes its annual audited Financial Statements on its website within 30 days of its annual general meeting. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the audited Financial Statement criteria.
The CFFO submitted copies of its service standards and refund policy to the Tribunal. The CFFO provided testimony that the policies are posted on their website and available in printed and electronic form upon request. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the service standards/refund criterion..
The CFFO submitted multiple illustrations of its various education and training materials which are available in both hard copy and internet-based materials. The education and training materials are clearly focused on education and training in agricultural matters through summits; Annual and District Meetings; presentations; newsletters; Standing Committees; Farming under 40 a youth initiative; and its website, to name a few. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the education/training criterion.
The CFFO produced documentation consisting of letters, fact sheets and submissions to Governments, Administrative Tribunals, and Advisory Boards on a number of agricultural related issues. The CFFO has established that it is an active advocate for persons carrying on a farming business concerning agricultural issues. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the public advocacy/advice criterion.
The CFFO’s audited Financial Statements filed with the Tribunal prior to the hearing reflect that the auditors prepared the statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and, among other things, the total payments the CFFO received and the total amount of refunds, both pursuant to Section 21 of the Act, and the amounts contributed to the local CFFO branches. Based on that evidence, the Tribunal determined that the CFFO satisfies the Financial Statement criterion.
Decisions and Reasons
Having reviewed the evidence and the exhibits filed, The Tribunal is of the view that the CFFO complies with all conditions and criteria set out in the legislation to justify its eligibility for special funding.
The Tribunal orders that the Application by the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario for special funding be granted pursuant to Section 19 of the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993. This ruling will be in effect for three years commencing on December 6, 2018.
Dated in Wallaceburg, Ontario, this 26th day of October, 2018.
Appendix 1
Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 S.O. 1993, C. 21
- (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); O. Reg. 490/17, s. 5.
(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).
An accredited farm organization may apply for renewal of its accreditation only during the period that is no sooner than nine months and no later than six months before the expiry of its accreditation. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 6.
Revoked: O. Reg. 490/17, s. 6.
(1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, a francophone organization representing farmers in Ontario may be eligible for special funding if, in addition to meeting the criteria set out in clauses 12 (a) and (b) of the Act, it meets the following criteria:
It promotes knowledge of agriculture and agricultural issues amongst francophones in agricultural and rural areas of Ontario.
It 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 francophones carrying on farming businesses in Ontario.
It provides education or training in respect of agricultural matters or provides information on obtaining such education or training to francophones carrying on farming businesses in Ontario.
It plans, promotes or implements or assists in planning, promoting or implementing economic development projects in agricultural and rural areas of Ontario.
It maintains a liaison with the accredited organizations and other francophone organizations representing farmers.
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.
It prepares audited financial statements annually in accordance with subsection (2) 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.
Revoked: O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (1).
It is incorporated under a general or special Act of the Legislature.
It has at least forty members who,
i. carry on a farming business in Ontario, and
ii. have paid the membership fee.
- It has at least twenty-one members who carry on a farming business for which there is a current farming business registration. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 8 (1); O. Reg. 442/09, s. 3; O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (1).
(2) An audited financial statement shall include:
The total amount of special funding received by the francophone organization in the year.
Financial statements and an auditor’s report prepared by an auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
The number of members in the organization. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (2).
A francophone organization eligible for special funding may apply for renewal of its eligibility only during the period that is no sooner than nine months and no later than six months before the expiry of its eligibility. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 9.
In the Act and this Regulation,
“special funding” means the funding accredited organizations have agreed to pay to the eligible francophone organization. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 10.
For the purpose of subsection 21 (7) of the Act, the time prescribed for applying for a refund is the ninety-day period starting with the day the registration form is required to be filed. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 11.
For the purpose of subsection 11 (7) of the Act, the time prescribed for resubmitting a payment is the thirty-day period starting with the day the Ministry returns the first payment pursuant to subsection 11 (6) of the Act. O. Reg. 723/93, s. 12.
In addition to the information that the Minister must provide under subsection 21 (3) of the Act, the Minister may, under section 3 of the Act, for the purpose of promoting the efficient administration of the Act, provide to the appropriate farm organizations the fax numbers and e-mail addresses provided in the farming business registration forms of those who have provided payments under subsection 21 (1) of the Act. O. Reg. 42/99, s. 2.