MISSION STATEMENT / ORGANIZATION CHART

Canadian Horticultural Council (National Association)
Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association
Chairman of the Board		CEO
Management Committee
Board of Directors
Membership Advisory Council
Producer Members

MEMBERSHIP

The OFVGA is comprised of 28 member organizations representing more than 7,500 farmers throughout the province. These farmers are members of local branch associations, marketing boards, commissions, and affiliated organizations.

As well, the OFVGA is involved in many organizations and industry committees, and has appointees to:

• AGCare,
• The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC),
• The Farm Safety Association (FSA),
• The Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council (OACC),
• The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA),
• The Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS),
• The Ontario Agri-Food Technologies Inc. (OAFT),
• The Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. (OAFE),
• The Ontario Agricultural Human Resources Council, and
• The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

MANDATE

The OFVGA is comprised of a number of sections: labour, research, crop protection, and property which address issues pertinent to the Ontario horticultural industry. Each section is made up of an elected chair and directors. The directors are responsible for dictating the section's own function and mandate that is governed by established terms of reference.

The lobbying efforts of the association encompass all government agencies at both the provincial and federal levels. The association is recognized as the official horticultural organization for Ontario, representing all fruit, vegetable, greenhouse vegetable farmers, and industry members.

CONTAINER ACT

The container toll is a 1.5 per cent levy on containers paid by Ontario farmers and collected by sellers of containers. A toll is levied for everything that is part of or attached to the container when it leaves the farm gate. The levy is charged on and for the packaging of Ontario grown produce. This cost is collected by the seller of the containers and is to be remitted to the OFVGA by the 20th of the following month.

This constitutes a large part of the funding that allows the OFVGA to continue its diligent work on issues such as taxation, pesticides, hydro, water use, and wildlife damage.

The following is in brief only, for more details and/or information, contact our operations manager at 519-763-6160, extension 116 or visit the Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture website.

Regulation 372, R.R.O. 1990 as amended by O.Reg. 406192 and O.Reg. 487195 under the Farm Products Containers Act – CONTAINERS – Fruit and Vegetables

1. (1) In this regulation, “association"”means the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association; “producer"”means a person engaged in the production of fruit or vegetables and includes a person engaged in the handling, packing, processing, shipping, transporting, purchasing or selling of fruit or vegetables.

(2) The association is designated as an association to which the Act applies and fruit and vegetables are designated as farm products to which the Act applies, O.Reg. 470189, s.1.

2. Every producer who purchases containers for use or suitable for use in the marketing of fruit and vegetables shall be deemed to be the holder of a licence therefore, O.Reg. 428183, s.2.

3. (1) Every producer shall pay to the seller on behalf of the association licence fees of,
(a) 2 per cent of the net invoice price of all containers that the producer purchased in Ontario before December 1, 1995; and (b) 1.5 per cent of the net invoice price of all containers that the producer purchased in Ontario on or after December 1, 1995.
(2) Every person who sells containers to a producer shall collect the licence fees payable under subsection (1) and shall, on or before the 20th day of the month next following the month in which licence fees were collected,
(a) complete and file with the association at its head office, a statement in a form satisfactory to the association; and
(b) pay the amount collected to the association at its head office.
(3) Every person who sells containers to a producer shall account to the association for licence fees payable to the association.
(4) Every producer shall, on or before the 20th day of the month, pay directly to the association licence fees of,
(a) 2 per cent of the net invoice price of all containers that the producer purchased outside Ontario in the previous month, if the purchaser purchased them before December 1, 1995; and
(b) 1.5 per cent of the net invoice price of all containers that the producer purchased outside Ontario in the previous month, if the purchaser purchased them on or after December 1, 1995.
(5) Every seller of containers in Ontario and every producer who purchases containers outside Ontario shall pay to the association interest at the rate of 1.5 per cent per month on overdue licence fees, O.Reg. 470189, s.2; O.Reg. 487195, s.1.

4. Every person who sells containers to a producer shall clearly show on every invoice covering the sale any licence fees payable to the association on such sale, O.Reg. 428183, s.4.

5. The association shall not use licence fees received under clause 3 (2) (b) for the retail or wholesale distribution or processing of fruit and vegetables, O.Reg. 428183, s.5.

6. The association may recover licence fees by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction, O.Reg. 428183, s.6.

7. This Regulation does not apply to,
(a) field boxes and field crates;
(b) hampers of five-eighths of a bushel capacity;
(c) pallet boxes;
(d) bulk bins;
(e) containers for mushrooms; and
(f) containers for fruit or vegetables that are processed by being sliced, diced, cored, chipped, canned, dehydrated, frozen, pickled, bottled, distilled, fermented or treated with sugar, or sulphur dioxide, O.Reg. 428183, s.7; O.Reg. 406/92, s.1.

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