On December 1, 2022, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission amended Ontario Regulation 485/09 (Grain – Marketing) made under the Farm Products Marketing Act.

Amendments to Ontario Regulation 485/09 (Grain – Marketing) includes revoking subsection 18(8) which deals with the Grain Industry Advisory Committee.  Another amendment was replacing subsection 19(3) with the following:

“(3) The agreement referred to in subsection (1) shall take effect on September 1 following the establishment of the negotiating agency and shall terminate in accordance with the terms of the agreement.”

Section 19 of Ontario Regulation 485/09 relates to a negotiating agency established to create an agreement between the local board, soybean processors, and the Grain Committee. The agreement is to decide on the terms, conditions, and forms of agreements related to the collection, purchase, offering to sell, processing, sale, shipment, storage, or transportation of soybeans. However, it does not include prices for soybeans or for any specific type, quality, grade or size of soybeans.

The Grain Industry Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission on matters related to the grain industry in Ontario. The Grain Industry Advisory Committee is composed of 13 members: five members appointed by the local board, four members appointed by the Grain Committee, one member appointed by the Commission, one member appointed by the Canadian Seed Trade Association, one member appointed by the Ontario Flour Millers’ Association, one member appointed by the processors.

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (Commission) is a regulatory agency without a governing board, established under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act (MAFRAA). The Commission is an independent decision-making body that reports to, and is directly accountable to, the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

As a non-board governed agency, the Commission does not have a specific mandate prescribed in the MAFRAA or other acts, and it is not required to receive a mandate letter from the Government of Ontario. However, based on its legal authority the Commission summarizes its mandate as: The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission works to help drive the province’s regulated marketing system forward. This is done to enable prosperous, thriving, and dynamic agri-food industries within Ontario’s economy, and to promote investment confidence.

*Source: Ontario (7/23) January 24, 2023.