Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal
Tribunal d’appel de l’agriculture, de l’alimentation et des affaires rurales
1 Stone Road West, 2nd Floor NW Guelph, Ontario N1G 4Y2 Tel: (519) 826-3433, Fax: (519) 826-4232 Email: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
1 Stone Road West, 2e étage NW Guelph (Ontario) N1G 4Y2 Tél.: (519) 826-3433, Téléc.: (519) 826-4232 Courriel: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
APPEAL: Roger Albers v Ontario Sheep Farmers (RE) 2024 ONAFRAAT 18
STATUTE: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act
HEARING: June 17, 18, 19 and July 16, 2024
DATE OF DECISION: September 16, 2024
004Albers22
NEUTRAL CITATION: 2024 ONAFRAAT 18
IN THE MATTER OF THE Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act, R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER M.16, AS AMENDED
AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (“Tribunal”) by Roger Albers regarding a decision of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency dated June 1, 2022
AND IN THE MATTER OF a Hearing held pursuant to Rule 6.04 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure
BETWEEN:
Roger Albers Appellant
– and –
Ontario Sheep Farmers Respondent
-and-
Canadian Sheep Federation Participant
Represented by John O’Kane Represented by Geoffrey P. Spurr Represented by John O’Kane
Heard: June 17, 18, 19 and July 16, 2024, by video conference
Before: Glenn C. Walker, Chair; Tricia Schouten, Vice-Chair; Steve Moutsatsos, Vice-Chair
Appearances: John O’Kane, Counsel for Appellant and Counsel for the Participant Geoffrey P. Spurr, Counsel for Respondent
DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL
Overview
This is an appeal from a decision of the Ontario Sheep Farmers (“OSF”), formerly known as the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency (“OSMA”), dated June 1, 2022. This decision resulted from a hearing requested by Roger Albers and Matt Lynch for themselves and on behalf of a group of resident and non-resident sheep and wool producers respecting various concerns raised by them in relation to the General Regulations of OSF and specifically provisions relating to licence fees, the collection of licence fees and exemption from licence fees.
The appeal is made pursuant to Subsection 16(1) of the [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-m16/latest/rso-19