The Rural Voice, 2006-12, Page 63RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
411*
RR 1, STRATTON, ON POW 1NO
807-487-2387
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA
Community takes action to save local abattoir
An Abattoir Committee press
release in the Fort Frances Times on
November 1, 2006, headlined,
"District abattoir moving forward".
That same day, OMAFRA meat
inspectors shut down Sunrise Meat
and Sausage in Barwick and
condemned all the meat on the
premises which included inspected,
un -inspected and wild meat.
These actions were taken because
of non-compliance with regulations
regarding processing and transporting
of un -inspected meat — regulations
that had been ignored by inspection
officials for over two years because
there isn't an abattoir available. A
hearing was held on Monday,
November 6 and an order given that
the meat was to be rendered on
November 9.
There was an extra -ordinary sense
of unity in the crowd of over 250
farmers and local residents who
gathered at the Barwick Hall on
Wednesday, November 8. The newly
formed "Local Food for Local
People" (LFLP) Committee
emphasized the need for cool heads
as they outlined their three immediate
goals: Restore the good name of Paul
and Susan Peters, the owners of
Sunrise Meats; have the rendering
order postponed; and ask OMAFRA
to help find an interim solution until
an abattoir is built.
The committee had been
previously informed that there were
no avenues to appeal the rulings of
the hearing that had been held on
Monday, but they had sought, and
been given, another hearing on
Friday. The previously planned
peaceful demonstration seemed
unnecessary.
The bad -faith on the part of those
conducting the hearing was apparent
when it became obvious that a dump
truck had been hired to haul the meat
to the Winnipeg landfill site even
before the hearing began. The hearing
ruled that all but the wild meat and
the sealed inspected meat was to be
hauled away.
People started gathering at Sunrise
Meats soon after the hearing was
over. By 4:30 p.m. cars and pick-ups
lined the highway for a quarter mile
in both directions. People were
milling about and talking in groups.
Passing vehicles honked in support.
OPP officers were on hand and made
sure that everyone was safe and
traffic allowed to pass.
Someone explained that the tractor
blocking the east entrance to Sunrise
Meat had broken down and, at 4:00
p.m. on a Friday, it was pretty hard to
find a mechanic.
After talking to the meat
inspectors locked in their van, a
number of OPP officers accompanied
Paul Peters, owner of Sunrise Meat,
to the west entrance which was
blocked by a pick-up.
"Sir," an officer asked a man
standing near the truck, "do you own
this pick-up?"
The man indicated that he did.
"Mr. Peters has something to ask
of you."
Paul said to the man, "We need
the entrance cleared so that the truck
can get in. Will you please move
your truck?"
The truck owner replied, "Gosh, I
really wish I could move it but, you
see, a wheel fell off and I had some
lug nuts but someone came along and
stole them."
It was obvious that the dump truck
was not going to be loaded that night.
It and the bullet -proof -vested meat
inspectors left with the promise
that they would return in the
morning.
The crowd began arriving around
8:00 a.m. on Saturday; the dump
truck and the van with the meat
inspectors, around 9:30 a.m
Someone noticed that the tires on the
dump truck were quite badly worn
and would constitute a safety hazard
on Ontario roads. MTO officials were
called but before they could arrive the
meat inspectors realized that they
were not going to be able to load the
meat so they sent the truck away and
told the LFLP spokespeople that they
would now have to negotiate with
their boss.
It was important to get Sunrise
Meat and Sausage back in business.
Telephone negotiations began with
the head of the inspectors to allow the
meat to be transferred to a reefer van
so that Sunrise Meats could get back
in business. In the meantime, a
collection was taken up to pay to
bring a van from Steinbach,
Manitoba. The van arrived around
2:30 p.m. and with two appointed
witnesses, all but the sealed inspected
meat was transferred. The wild meat
was included because it presented
itself as a bargaining tool.
Concerns began to surface that the
meat might not be secure on Sunrise
Meat's property and the crowd
insisted that it be hauled to Rainy
River First Nation. Some of the wild
meat belongs to them.
On Monday, November 13,
butchers and volunteers from across
the district processed the sides of beef
so that they could be frozen and
safely stored until this situation is
resolved.
This situation has united the
people of the Rainy River District as
never before and brings home the
need for an abattoir as well as giving
food localism a tremendous boost.0
— Submitted By Rick Neilson
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DECEMBER 2006 59