HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-08-17, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Farm commission's powers queried
John Miner
Postmedia Network
He's likened himself to a hit man,
the guy who does the dirty work so
the minister of agriculture and the
rest of the Ontario cabinet can keep
their hands clean.
Un -elected, unapologetic, Geri
Kamenz is also arguably the most
powerful individual in Ontario's
food sector, heading a six -member
commission that calls the shots on
everything from the size of milk
containers in grocery stores to how
dozens of farm commodities are
bought and sold.
A staggering three-quarters of
the farm gate value of all agricul-
tural commodities produced in
Ontario falls under the cabinet -
appointed board's jurisdiction that
includes oversight of Ontario's 21
farm marketing boards.
It's what the commission is rec-
ommending to do with one of
those boards — the London-based
Ontario Processing Vegetable
Growers association — that's put-
ting Kamenz in the spotlight.
The commission is recommend-
ing that the association be stripped
of its collective bargaining powers.
At a recent meeting of the Egg
Farmers of Ontario, Kamenz was
videotaped in a presentation talk-
ing about the movie The Profes-
sional, in which a hit man tries to
explain to an 11 -year-old girl what
he does for a living.
He settles for describing himself
as "a cleaner."
"In many respects that's what we
are ... we are the cleaners. We are
the ones who are arm's length from
government so that the minister, or
the cabinet, or anyone else in gov-
ernment does not have to get their
hands dirty and direct people what
to do.
"It's our role to sit down with
your board and other boards, with
the processing community, and get
at the heart of a problem and then
go clean it up, to keep it out of the
mainstream media and keep it out
of the press and chart a more suc-
cessful path forward."
A former air force pilot, Kamenz
is a cash crop, beef and pork farmer
from Eastern Ontario. His appoint-
ment as head of the commission in
2008, just two months after step-
ping down as president of the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture,
raised eyebrows because the job
usually went to a career civil
servant.
Reportedly paid more than
$100,000 a year, Kamenz was also
the first to be appointed to the job
as a part-time employee.
He is someone people within the
farming community, even opposi-
tion MPPs, are reluctant to get in a
scrap with.
At a recent farm meeting, local
growers were advised by their lead-
ers to concentrate on influencing
the Agriculture minister and avoid
antagonizing the commission and
Kamenz.
His tight-lipped media approach
is a strategy he has stuck to in his
push to strip the Ontario Process-
ing Vegetable Growers association
of its powers to collectively bargain
with processors on behalf of
farmers.
Despite being the designated
spokesperson for the powerful
commission, Kamenz hasn't
responded to repeated requests for
an interview to explain why the
commission is proposing to over-
turn a marketing system that has
been in place for decades.
Vegetable growers, scrambling to
get their crops harvested, suggest
they've been ambushed by
Kamenz and the commission. They
have been given until Friday to
respond to the proposal posted
without warning last month on a
government website that
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announces possible changes in
regulations. In its notice, the com-
mission said it plans to make a final
decision in September and have
the new rules in place for the next
growing season.
"If Geri Kamenz has the author-
ity from this provincial government
to act as a hit man, then he is doing
his job, and the public should pass
judgment on this government and
specifically the minister of agricul-
ture for acting in such a manner,"
said David Epp, a Leamington -area
tomato grower who has said he will
quit the industry if the vegetable
association is stripped of its negoti-
ating powers.
If Kamenz is acting on his own,
Epp said, the agriculture minister
needs to act.
"I know what my judgement
would be if my employee acted in
such a manner," Epp said.
Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff
Leal's office said the minister is on
vacation and is unavailable for com-
ment on Kamenz's statements.
"It is not the practice of the ministry
to comment on remarks made or
given," Christina Crowley-Arklie, press
secretary to Leal, wrote in an email.
PC agricultural critic Toby Bar-
rett, who has pushed to have the
commission's deadlines extended
for the vegetable growers, said
communication and consultation
are important parts of the commis-
sion's job.
"You have no business blindsid-
ing people, no business ramming
things through in a democratic sys-
tem," he said.
Barrett said the Liberal govern-
ment has used the same approach
of delegating decisions with other
controversial programs.
"We've watched the inappropri-
ate electricity policy laundered
through various agencies created
by the Ontario government," he
said.
As for Kamenz, he told the egg
farmers that he knows his work can
make him unpopular.
"Every time I put the key in my
office door and it still turns and they
haven't changed the lock, I deem
that to be successful," he said.
jminer@postmedia.com
twi tter. com/JohnatLFPress
The champs are here
U15 Girls -league champs
On Saturday August 6th the U15
Girls traveled to Goderich to finish
off their season. The girls played a
real tough team from Lucknow in
the semi final. It was a back and
forth, scoreless game until
Rebecca Klaver scored on a beau-
tiful rush with 2 minutes left in the
game to send us to the finals. In
the finals, the girls came out with
another great effort claiming the
championship with a solid 3-0 win
over Goderich. Goal scorers were
Khloe Eisler, Kimmy Doyle and
Sarah McCarthy . Goaltender,
Sarah van Bakel, was awesome,
playing her two best games of the
year when we needed it most. This
was a great team who worked hard
all year and played as a team each
and every time. They truly
deserved to be the champs.
Ull Girls
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On Wednesday, Aug 3, the girls
matched up against South Huron
#1 in Exeter. From the start of the
game, to the last few seconds, the
score remained at zero for both
teams. Keira Dietz came close to
scoring on a penalty kick, but
grazed the crossbar before bounc-
ing out. The heat slowed the play
down, but did not stop "speedy"
Sheana Beuermann from drib-
bling the ball in, and catching the
South Huron keeper on the short
side, to put St.Columban up by
one. Helping with the goal was
Chelsea VandenHeuvel, Abby
Wynja, and Haylie Murch. The
final score was 1-0 for the girls,
with the shut -out credited to Chel-
sea and Campbell Ryan.
On Aug 4, the girls traveled
to Exeter to meet up with
South Huron #2. With the girls
coming off a game the previ-
ous night, they looked a little
tried, but never gave up. The
girls controlled most of the
play, but could not capitalize
when needed. As the match
wore on, it looked as though it
could be a stalemate. With
time ticking down, Sadie Mac-
Arthur brought the ball out of
our end and passed up to
Keira Dietz, who made
St.Columban the victors in
this showdown. Final score
was 1-0 St.Columban.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13