Packer co-op leader 'disappointed' by Tribunal ruling

Thursday, February 18, 2010

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The spokesman for Conestoga Meat Packers and Progressive Pork Producers Co-operative Inc., isn’t ruling out an appeal of this week’s Tribunal decision on pork marketing.

The board will meet to discuss the issue next week says Bob Hunsberger, while expressing his disappointment in the Tribunal’s decision.

“I think the Commission made a business decision and the Tribunal made a political decision. It leaves the industry in a great state of uncertainty for a couple of years,” says Hunsberger.

 “We don’t know what is going to happen,” he explains. “Ontario Pork has 18 months to decide what they want to do and they go to a producer vote at some stage. What the terms of that vote will be we don’t know. Theoretically we could be back to where we were in 1990.”

“We have long believed that (Progressive Pork Producers) should have an exemption from Ontario Pork,” Hunsberger says. “We don’t want to have an exemption and continue to pay the fee. There’s nothing (in the Tribunal decision) to say the fee will be reduced.

“This has probably cost the industry a few million dollars” in terms of excess fees and double fees, he says. Since the Commission decision in 2008, Conestoga has set up to do direct settlement with producers and so are other packing companies.

“We will be paying for Ontario Pork (to make settlements on sales) and we will be paying for us to settle it.”

Hunsberger also expressed disappointment in changes ordered in the Hog Industry Advisory Committee. The Appeal Tribunal had ordered that a new chairman be named to the committee and that its structure as set out in regulations be maintained. “I think (the HIAC committee) will be a less effective group and unable to make effective recommendations,” he says. The structure set out in regulations “has not been followed for 25 years.”
 
The Tribunal heard complaints last December that only large producers were represented on that committee that set directions for the industry following the Commission ruling in 2008. Hunsberger disputed that claim during the hearings. BF