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by BETTER FARMING STAFF
The government lawyer who released the names of the producers who signed a petition resulting in a Farm Products Marketing Commission hearing last summer into the marketing powers of Ontario Pork has warned that the names can’t be disclosed to the media.
“I wish to remind the parties that they are bound by a deemed undertaking to use the documents that they receive by way of disclosure in a proceeding solely for the purpose of the proceeding,” wrote Sara Blake, counsel for the Farm Products Marketing Commission, in an email accompanying the documents to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal Thursday. “In particular this means that parties are deemed to have given an undertaking not to disclose to the press either the documents or the information contained in them.”
Blake did not respond to repeated telephone calls requesting an explanation.
“I know I didn’t give an undertaking,” says Elbert van Donkersgoed, agent representing Glencoe pork producer Rein Minnema, who is appealing the Commission’s Oct. 6 decision to end Ontario Pork’s monopoly powers. “I don’t know what this legally means for me.”
Last Friday Tribunal vice-chair Marthanne Robson ordered the Commission to release the names. Van Donkersgoed brought forward the motion to release the documents.
“I don’t understand the basis” for the ongoing confidentiality, says Robert Shapiro, counsel for Huron Pork Producers Association, appellants in a Tribunal hearing into the Farm Products Marketing Commission’s decision last October to end Ontario Pork’s marketing powers.
No one at Ontario Pork was available to comment early this afternoon. BF
Comments
From a previous posting
"We will find that Farm Products and its legal staff will interpret this order of the Tribunal much the same as they have interpreted the issue of a stay, Farm Products will do as it pleases and only provide limited, if any information. They are above the law"
Now we have Deemed Undertaking, this would make a good novel if it were not so far fetched.
Is was very disappointing to see the names and who they actual
represented.
Who they were and the percentage of the industry they actual represented
Therefor be it resolved that we stop interfering and leave the tribunal space to do their job.
pignan
please correct
spelling error
pignan
needs to read pigman
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