OPMA Members Asked to Write/Visit Their Local Member of Parliament

Ontario Produce Marketing Association Meets with Minister of Finance, Joe Oliver regarding PACA-like Trust Provisions.

The OPMA is asking members to write or visit their local Member of Parliament to (a) generate awareness for the OPMA’s request to establish a deemed trust, and (b) understand the importance of this issue to the produce industry. The more visibility the better chance we have of our government implementing the required legislation.

Following industry meetings with a number of MP’s on Parliament Hill in November to raise the importance of establishing a deemed trust, similar to the trust currently in place in the United States, OPMA is continuing to brief more MP’s of how important this issue is to the Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

With the help of Steve Bamford of Fresh Advancements, the current Chair of the OPMA, a meeting with the office of the federal Minister of Finance, Joe Oliver was held January 8, 2015 in Toronto.  Steve, Luc Mougeot from the DRC and Ian MacKenzie were able to explain once again the need for this type of financial protection for our industry in the event buyers become insolvent or bankrupt.

The key elements of the industry’s proposal are:

1. Sellers maintain an ownership interest in their products until paid.  A deemed trust is established at the time of sale.
2. The deemed trust is composed of the product, plus any cash or accounts receivable stemming from the sale of that product.
3. The funds contained in the trust are applied to unpaid produce sellers where the buyer is insolvent or bankrupt.

While government would create the legal mechanisms for industry, a limited statutory deemed trust for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector would require no government funding or need for any government administration.

As an added benefit, establishing a deemed statutory trust would potentially prompt the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reinstate Canada’s  preferential access to their dispute resolution system for produce suppliers under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) which was revoked on October 1, 2014.

Please write or visit  your local MP as soon as possible.  If you need help in writing a letter or arranging a meeting, please contact Ian MacKenzie at 416-519-9390, ext. 231 or ian@theopma.ca.