Grains and oilseeds merger encounters opposition

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by SUSAN MANN

A group of southwestern Ontario farmers question how the province can forge ahead and form a new grain organization given the low voter turnout and small percentage of people voting in favour last fall.

Cash cropper Tim Mullen of Essex County says just 17 per cent of the 28,000 farmers eligible to vote cast ballots in the September mail-in ballot addressing the question of whether to merge the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association, Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board and Ontario Soybean Growers into one organization. The voter turnout was way lower than the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission’s criteria of 50 per cent of eligible voters and 66 per cent of those who voted being in favour for the merger to be approved, says Mullen, who voted ‘no.’ The Commission conducted the vote.

Commission chair Geri Kamenz says the voter turnout “is probably consistent with the apathy many Canadian express toward their democratic right.” Even though people choose not to vote, ‘we still move forward in new directions,” he says. “The opinion rendered was well over 70 per cent that supported the move.”

In December, Elmer Buchanan, the Commission’s vice-chair, attributed some of the poor response to an impression within the farm community that the decision to merge had already been made, despite information sessions held across the province.

Mullen says many farmers didn’t vote because they’re happy with the way things are. Many of those opposed didn’t send in their “no” votes because they thought common sense will prevail, he says. “Nobody ever thought they were going to take this low number.”  

Mullen is a member of Grassroots Farmers of Ontario, which has outlined its concerns in a letter to Ontario Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky in January. In the letter, group says the decision to proceed with the amalgamation “marks a new low for the integrity of your ministry.”

Ministry spokesperson Sherry Persaud said in a written statement that grain farmers petitioned the Commission through local resolutions to conduct a vote.

In its letter, Grassroots also questions why Elmer Buchanan was appointed interim Commission chair last summer, noting the move made it “obvious a railroad job was forthcoming.” Geri Kamenz was appointed chair in December.

The government “let it go through,” says Mullen. “That’s what the government originally wanted.”

Linking the staff changes at the Commission to the vote is “a real stretch,” says Kamenz. The Cabinet of Ontario’s government appoints the Commission chair and it didn’t make decisions based on whether grain farmers were having a vote: “They did it as part of their issues management.”

What does Grassroots want now? Mullen says he’d like the amalgamation stopped. He says one organization won’t be as efficient or have as much clout as the three have.

Essex County farmer Ian Pearce agrees that the amalgamation should be stopped or at the very least a new vote be held. Pearce, who voted ‘no,’ says there won’t be any cost saving with the new organization and there’ll likely be less representation.

A Dec. 12 press release from the ministry said 4,639 producers cast ballots with 70.4 per cent of them voting in favour of creating Grain Farmers of Ontario. The “yes” ballots also represented 72.2 per cent of the eligible acreage of the ballots. BF