Thank you very much, Mr. Miller. And thank you very much to the other members here for inviting me, and to the clerk for making this visit to Ottawa very enjoyable.
My name is Kevin Soady-Easton. I was a retail butcher in the town of Durham in the county of Grey. I have been a retail butcher for approximately 31 years. And I ran into problems with OMAFRA and the new regulations it has put into effect, which closed down my shop.
I don't know how to go about this, because this is all new to me. But maybe I should just read a letter to give you some information. This letter is from the West Grey Chamber of Commerce, from the village I worked in. It was sent out to all the chamber members. It's dated March 2, 2009:
Hello Members;
This newsletter is to catch you up on what has been going on “at the office”. Most of you know our Past President Kevin Easton of Empire Meat Co. has been trying to deal with new regulations that have classified his business as a free standing meat processing operation, causing it to fall under new regulations. These new regulations are next to impossible to comply with financially.
Kevin informed me today that he will be holding an auction of his equipment sometime in March, and in a few weeks he and his wife Hazel will be moving to the Grimsby area. We not only lose a good Chamber member, a business and residential taxpayer from our community, but also a volunteer, who has served on a number of committees, during his time as a resident of our community.
Kevin made the decision to close the butcher shop due to receiving a formal letter from OMAFRA Food Inspection Branch dated January 23 2009 quoting the Ontario Regulation 31/05 from the Food Safety and Quality Act 2001. His operation is no longer an allowed practice under the new regulation. The letter continues to say, “that should he continue in producing blood pudding and wholesaling, the business will be in non-compliance, and OMAFRA will take enforcement actions up to and including the laying of charges under the Act and detention of product and equipment”. Further it states that the premises will continue to be subject to the Food Premises Regulation under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and inspectors from the local Health Unit and OMAFRA will be monitoring the business for compliance.
To be perfectly clear, Kevin's shop and all provincially inspected meat facilities are handled through the local health unit, in Empire's case that is the Grey Bruce Health Unit. The Health Unit carries out regular inspections and in no time in the past twelve years have they had any concerns, nor public complaint regarding his shop or operation.
This matter stems from new regulations under the jurisdiction of OMAFRA which do not allow a butcher to cook; smoke (make bacon or ham), or prepare an item (like haggis or blood pudding) in the same room that he has meat. Nor do they allow transport or retail of finished product to other shops. Regardless, if he accepted the new regulation and paid a license fee of $300.00 and then spent upwards of $150,000.00 to do the required upgrade of equipment, he still would not be allowed to make and retail his haggis and blood pudding at his shop, which comprises roughly 30% of his annual business.
OMAFRA does have grant/funding option of up to $25,000.00 for eligible businesses--key words here are eligible and up to--and technical and business assistance is available through the Ontario Independent Meat Processors (OIMP) to assist businesses in transition. Following a thorough review of his situation and upon receiving the latest letter from OMAFRA Kevin made the decision to close rather than go bankrupt.
In recent weeks Kevin has appealed to customers and others to write to the MPP on his behalf to express concerns that forcing businesses to close their doors in difficult economic times is not a good idea for Ontario's rural communities. Some of the people who wrote to our MPP and MP have received a letter from OMAFRA in response, citing the above regulations and the Act that they fall from. The letters also stated the funding available to businesses wishing to continue in business. If anyone would like to see either letter, I have them on file and would gladly share them with you. It seems our Ontario Ministry doesn't have a grasp on the fact that small places have small businesses with a limited number of customers and cannot afford to continue in business with these impractical regulations. It doesn't seem right that businesses that have met former requirements for years, passed inspections and with no public complaints, should be forced to closed, because they can't finance the compliance.
Small abattoirs are closing at an alarming rate (my information is that over 100 have closed recently) apparently due to not being able to finance the new requirements. This has resulted in some farmers butchering animals on the farm, as inspected facilities are not available, and distances to facilities are too great. If this continues our “fresh?” local meat will no longer be available. What impact will these new regulations have on the farm gate sale of meat?
No one seems to be able to ascertain if these new regulations were based on science alone, or were the result of a series of public consultations. No one argues with the proper food safety practices or regular inspections to ensure compliance in any sector of our food industry. Curiously, the serious health issues that have arisen seem to have stemmed from the large packing plants.
Why should this concern us?
Rural Ontario depends heavily on agriculture, and all the businesses and purchasing power that fall from farming activity. Closely linked with Tourism, a very important facet of our economy, here in Grey Bruce anything that affects the very basic industry of agriculture is a threat to our prosperity.
Ironically, in 2008 a partnership of the Counties of Grey and Bruce, Saugeen First Nation, the Municipality of Kincardine and the 100 Mile Market group, working with local producers developed an excellent Culinary and Agricultural Map of Grey and Bruce Counties directing people to locally sourced and grown food, (including meat) stating that the project would enhance local economies and the viability of rural communities. These stringent rules will no doubt affect other small food processors that handle food on a daily basis.
I will be forwarding this letter to MPP Bill Murdoch; MP Larry Miller; OMAFRA; The Ontario Chamber of Commerce; The Counties of Grey and Bruce, the Municipality of West Grey and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture in an effort to bring this matter to their attention.
It's signed Greta Kennedy, Secretary Treasurer, West Grey Chamber of Commerce.