Justice finds whistle blower not in contempt Thursday, July 28, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFAn Ontario Superior Court Justice has tossed out a motion to hold egg industry whistleblower Norman Bourdeau in contempt of a court order.Bourdeau’s lawyer, Rod Refcio, confirmed Friday that Justice Roland Haines had dismissed the motion that was brought forward by the whistleblower’s former employer, L.H. Gray and Son Limited.Refcio noted that a decision not to award costs “can be interpreted a million different ways.” But it’s usually “a sign that the judge feels that neither party has earned entitlement to receive some compensation or legal fees.”Refcio declined to comment further on the decision, noting he had not received instructions from his client.L.H. Gray is suing Bourdeau, an information technology specialist, for breach of fiduciary duty, confidentiality, good faith obligations, defamation and intentional interference in economic relations. The company is claiming $15 million in damages. Bourdeau, in turn, is suing his former employer for wrongfully terminating his contract and is claiming $25 million in damages. All claims have yet to be proven in court.Heard in a London court on Wednesday, the motion asked that Bourdeau be held in contempt of court for failing to deliver documents to L.H. Gray, Ontario’s second-largest egg marketer, before a court-imposed deadline of Mar. 4, 2011. The documents were delivered via email a week later.Bourdeau, who has challenged the practices of Ontario’s egg industry and his former employer and asked the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to investigate, claims in an affidavit that pneumonia prevented him from providing L.H. Gray with a list of about 170 contacts to whom he had leaked proprietary and confidential information by the early March deadline. On Wednesday, L.H. Gray’s lawyer Allison Webster argued that Bourdeau’s failure to deliver information on time was part of a pattern of conduct. She also noted that the explanation came months after the fact in an affidavit delivered days before the contempt motion was heard, and lacked an apology to court. Webster had estimated her firm’s costs to be nearly $11,000. Refcio estimated his costs at $2,000-$3,000.Webster could not be reached for comment. BF Prospects dwindle for corn planted on lighter soil Flurry of comments stalls mega quarry progress
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online
Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online
Twelve Ontario Agri-Businesses Receive Funding Support Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Bioenterprise Canada has announced the successful recipients of the second call for proposals under the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Commercialization Stream. Twelve organizations across Ontario will receive support to bring innovative agri-food solutions to the... Read this article online
Early Career Research Award supports two Guelph research initiatives Tuesday, June 24, 2025 The 2025 Early Career Research Award was presented to two University of Guelph researchers at the recently held Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) symposium. Dr. Kelsey Spence received $40,000 towards her work in on-farm biosecurity research, and Dr. Sam Workenhe was awarded... Read this article online