The new chair of the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency figures he has seen the glimpse of an olive branch from Manitoba to end the stalemate with the agency over how many eggs the province can produce.
If he is wrong, the province could be assessed more than $1 million in over-quota levies in early April, with the bill mounting at more than $300,000 per month.
“I think I see an end to the Manitoba issue,” said Laurent Souligny from St. Isidore, Ont. “I believe we received a signal from them that there is a way out.”
Read Also
Alberta eases water access for riparian restoration
Alberta government removes requirement for temporary diversion licence to water plants up to 100 cubic metres per day for smaller riparian restoration projects
What he had heard was a comment from Manitoba board member Frank Friesen at last week’s annual CEMA meeting. He said that while the province does not think it is breaking the rules, it will try to accommodate CEMA criticisms if possible.
It was an olive branch that eluded most other members of the CEMA board last week as they decided to give the province an April 4 deadline to comply with a CEMA quota or pay the penalty.
At issue are the 130,000 layers in Manitoba that are in excess of the quota issued by CEMA last year for the “Grow For” program.
Manitoba has argued those birds do not affect the national supply management system because they are strictly for the export processed market. The provincial board has refused to develop a plan to reduce the “Grow For” flock.
On March 31, a delegation of CEMA directors will meet with Manitoba producers in Winnipeg.
Friesen said if the national agency insists on imposing penalties, “it will put the system in some chaos.”
Manitoba has launched an appeal to the Canadian Farm Products Council over the province’s exclusion from a recent CEMA new domestic quota allocation.
Last week, Saskatchewan CEMA director Tim Wiens said his province has decided to support the Manitoba appeal. He was Manitoba’s only ally in the vote over the new deadline.
Board members from other provinces did not find the Manitoba position so conciliatory.
Don Burns from Prince Edward Island wondered about Manitoba’s justification for increasing its flock above the quota allocated in 1999 by CEMA.
Unaware of numbers
Friesen said more growers than expected decided to join the program. The Manitoba board was not vigilant in policing how many new birds were being added to the voluntary program.
“We’re not trying to justify that at all,” said the Manitoba director. He repeated the province’s position that the birds are not relevant to the supply management system because they do not affect the domestic market.
British Columbia director Walter Siemens said it was the first time he had heard Manitoba admit there was no justification for exceeding the quota.
“Give me a proposal on how you will remove them and I’m there,” he said.
There was no specific Manitoba promise.
Alberta director Charlie Van Arnam noted that last year his province was penalized even though it did not think it was breaking the rules. Manitoba should expect nothing less, he said.
“The issue is whether we have rules or not,” said Van Arnam. “The rules have been broken. There must be one standard for all provinces.”
The majority vote was that the April 4 deadline should be enforced if the March 31 meeting does not produce an agreement for Manitoba to comply with the quota allocation.
