Appeal Tribunal dismisses challenge to poultry export rules in Ontario

Henry Bos is a chicken producer from the Niagara peninsula who wanted to sell more of his production to chicken processors in the province of Quebec. Since November 2009, as a result of a moratorium created by regulation, Mr. Bos has been capped at selling about 20% of his production to a Quebec processor and the balance of his production to Ontario processors.

Amendments to a 2005 regulation governing contractual arrangements between Ontario chicken producers and out of province processors, and a 2005 policy governing chicken production and marketing quotas implemented the 2009 moratorium.  Mr. Bos challenged the policy and regulation amendments.  The essence of his challenge was that the effect of those amendments removed his freedom to sell his chicken to whomever he chooses.  He explained, in his evidence and his arguments, that the "core character" of the impugned policy amendment and regulation amendment is to control the inter-provincial movement of chicken, and that control was beyond the jurisdiction of the marketing agency, the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO).  He testified the impugned policy amendment and regulation amendment prevent him the freedom to market more than 9,025 quota units inter-provincially.  The 9,025 quota units reflected the level of Mr. Bos' contracts with a Quebec processor at the time when CFO introduced the moratorium in November 2009.

The Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal found that the policy and regulation amendments were within the powers of the CFO as granted by the province of Ontario.  The moratorium, the Tribunal ruled, fell within the regulation of chicken marketing in Ontario.  The moratorium was part of the control of marketing transactions within Ontario.  The fact that it temporarily and incidentally capped exports out of province did not affect the finding that the regulation and policy amendments were ones the CFO was authorized to make.  The Tribunal also noted that the moratorium is being phased out.

Read the decision at: Henry Bos vs. Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO).