New provincial regulations mean the removal of the collective bargaining strength for local tomato and carrot growers.
Keith Robbins is the GM of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers and says there are two types of negotiation processes, one is through an agency, the other option is to deal directly with the processor.
“We seriously hope that in the long term, everyone will see growers and processors need to work cooperatively to make sure that everyone has a good margin,” Robbins says.
“If farmers can’t make profits, then they’re not in existence. If they’re not in existence, then the plants themselves are going to have to find alternate places to source tomatoes.”
The new regulations were put in place in the fall.