Ontario's Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal has dismissed an appeal by John Petropoulos of Smithville from a decision of the Turkey Farmers of Ontario (TFO) which denied his request for revision or revocation of an "over marketing penalty".
John Petropoulos, Angela Petropoulos and A & V Petropoulos of Smithville, Ontario are turkey producers and hold quota issued by the Turkey Farmers of Ontario (TFO) under two legal entities, 708022 Ontario Limited and A & V Petropoulos. During the quota year which ended April 30, 2009, the Appellants discovered that 708022 Ontario Limited had not obtained the required lease and approval from TFO to produce turkeys on the property owned by A & V Petropoulos.
As a result of 708022 Ontario Limited not having the lease in place, A & V Petropoulos, producers themselves, committed an over marketing of their quota by 57,034 kgs. The Board did not allow A & V Petropoulos to cover the over marketed kilograms with the unused kilograms from 708022 Ontario Limited. The Board's decision included forgiveness of the 57,034 kilogram reduction that would have been deducted from the marketing quota in the 2009/2010 quota period, and a fine of 22 cents per kg for the over production assessed against A & V Petropoulos. The total fine levied was $13,174.85.
Since the error did not actually result in an over-production of turkeys into the marketing system, Petropoulos asked that the fine be waived and in its place a late filing fee be imposed. The Tribunal refused this request, finding that TFO's treatment of the situation was fair and reasonable, especially in light of the fact that no leases were in place for 2005, 2006 and 2007 either.
Read the decision at: John Petropoulos v. Turkey Farmers of Ontario.
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