NFU hopes new letter clears path for accreditation

Monday, December 3, 2012

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The National Farmers Union – Ontario  (NFU-O) has filed a letter with the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal that should allow the Tribunal to proceed with the NFU-O’s original application for accreditation.

NFU-O Coordinator Ann Slater said they filed a letter with the Tribunal Dec. 3, a day ahead of the Dec. 4 deadline imposed by the Tribunal in its third interim order concerning the issue.

“We filed yesterday,” Slater says, “to say we withdraw our withdrawals so we hope that will allow the Tribunal to move ahead working on our original application.”

Withdrawing their withdrawals refers to a decision by the NFU-O in November to withdraw their original application for accreditation and submit a new one all on the same day. The move was a response to a decision earlier in November by the Ontario Minister of Agriculture to simplify the regulations around re-accreditation of general farm organizations. Slater said at the time the NFU-O thought a fresh application would streamline the process. It did the reverse.

The NFU-O letters were filed Nov. 22. On Nov. 23, in a second interim order, the Tribunal raised concerns that the NFU-O’s request to withdraw its existing application for accreditation and then immediately commencing a fresh application “may be an abuse of process in the legal sense.” The Tribunal then invited written submissions from both the NFU-O and the Minister of Agriculture.

In written submissions on Nov. 28, the NFU-O told the Tribunal it was willing to withdraw its Nov. 22 letter but it added some provisions. The Tribunal’s interpretation was that adding provisions in the NFU-O’s submissions did not constitute “an unconditional withdrawal of either letter.”

Counsel for the minister responded to the second interim order, saying “the minister is of the opinion that the NFU-O’s original actions do not in any way constitute an abuse of the Tribunal’s process and were, in fact, justifiable, given the present situation.” The minister then asked for a third interim order reflecting the three NFU-O requests.

The Tribunal’s third interim order allowed the NFU-O to withdraw its letter of withdrawal by Dec. 4 “without condition” and continue with its existing application filed in July.

Now it’s a matter of waiting for a decision on accreditation, putting the NFU-O in the same position as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and the Christian Famers Federation of Ontario (CFFO). All three were denied accreditation May 23 under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act because an interpretation of the 1993 Act, by the ministry’s legal services branch, concluded that directing a farm business registration fee of $195 to a particular organization did not confer membership in that organization. Provincial Agriculture Minister Ted McMeekin stepped in with the regulation changes after the OFA and CFFO were again denied re-accreditation in November.   

Until re-accreditation happens, however, Slater says, the names of NFU-O members who registered after May 23 and their membership fees are withheld. Most of NFU-O’s 2,400 members registered before May 23 but some did not. “Our concern,” Slater says, “is we have farmers who intended to belong to the NFU and we haven’t been able to bring them on to our membership list.”

Slater says she has no idea when an accreditation decision will be rendered. “The tribunal will take whatever time they need to do their work.” BF