Ontario was told by an internal trade panel today that it must allow the sale of vegetable oil/dairy product blends in the province.
A 10-year dispute between Alberta and Ontario over access for “imitation dairy products” has ended with the ruling in Alberta’s favour.
“It has been a long fight but one that was worth fighting,” said Iris Evans, Alberta’s minister of international and intergovernmental relations in a news release Oct. 25. “For too long Ontario has maintained these restrictions that are contrary to its domestic trade obligations and we are pleased the panel has ruled in our favour.”
Alberta, supported by Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba, asked in March for a panel to determine if regulations in Ontario’s Milk Act violated the Agreement on Internal Trade.
The panel ruled that Ontario regulations prohibiting the production and sale of dairy blends are inconsistent with the AIT, which was signed in 1994 to reduce and eliminate barriers to trade within Canada.
The members recommended Ontario comply with the AIT no later than Feb. 1, 2011. If it does not comply, it could be fined up to $5 million.
The ruling is good news for oilseed producers and processors, said the Saskatchewan agriculture ministry, because it allows access to one of Canada’s largest markets.
The Vegetable Oil Industry of Canada estimated at the start of the dispute that access to Ontario could create a $225 million market for dairy-vegetable oil blends. These would include canola and sunflower oil products.
