The stalemate in negotiations between Ontario's tomato growers and processors has led to Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal stepping in.
On Friday morning, Elmer Buchanan, a former ag minister, was appointed as trustee of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers Board. Buchanan will immediately assume the powers of the board in an attempt to further negotiations.
In an interview with BlackburnNews.com, Leal says things have to move forward immediately to avoid losing a full year's crop.
"An inability to proceed with the 2017 crop places in jeopardy the economic well-being of hundreds of family farms and thousands of processing jobs," he says. "As minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs and the minister responsible for small business in Ontario, I'm not prepared to allow this to happen."
Leal points out the new trustee has been given a mandate to complete the 2017 negotiations and develop a reformed framework for 2018 and beyond.
Buchanan will have no additional powers and is only there temporarily, until new elections are held later this year.
