The Ontario Farm
Products Marketing Commission has placed an ad on its website for a
chairman for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Marketing Board.
The ad says the
board has about 400 members.
Their elected board
of directors was fired by the agriculture minister earlier this year
and he appointed Elmer Buchanan interim chairman to conduct contract
and pricing negotiations with processing companies for this year’s
harvest.
Recently Agriculture
Minister Jeff Leal said elections will be held nexr year for four
directors and the following year for another four who will then be
elected on a rotating basis for two-year terms.
He said the chairman
would continue to be appointed by the commission which he controls
because he appoints all its members.
The former board
members and a number of farmers have been outspoken critics of what
the government did.
The commission has
been warning for several years that radical changes were needed to
stop the loss of processing companies and jobs.
The commission ad
for chairman says the “ideal candidates should possess:
• Strategic
leadership skills
• Strong
communication skills
• The ability to
foster partnerships, cultivate relationships and build consensus
among diverse individuals
• Strong
leadership skills to encourage and facilitate effective, industry
minded decision making
