On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, by and with the advice and concurrence of the Executive Council of Ontario, orders that:

Whereas the Government of Ontario recognizes the important economic and social contribution that agriculture provides in Ontario;

And whereas the Government of Ontario wants to further foster the growth of agriculture in Ontario;

And whereas the Cattle Industry is an important part of Ontario’s agricultural sector;

And whereas Co-Operatives are an important part of the Cattle Industry;

And whereas the cost of purchasing Cattle is increasing;

And whereas an increase in the costs of purchasing Cattle decreases the potential overall effectiveness of the Program;

And whereas the Cattle Industry has requested the existing cap of $500,000 on the quantum of Purchase Orders be increased to account for the increasing costs of purchasing Cattle;

And whereas the Government of Ontario is supportive of making the requested changes to the Program so that the Program continues to provide relevant support to the Cattle Industry;

And whereas section 4 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act provides the Minister with authority in relation to the administration of laws relating to agriculture, food and rural affairs, including all of their branches, as well as such other powers and requires the Minister to perform such other functions and duties as are assigned to the Ministry by the LGIC;

And whereas section 7(1) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act allows the LGIC to establish, upon the recommendation of the Minister, a program for the encouragement of agriculture, food and rural affairs;

And whereas section 8 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act allows the LGIC to agree to provide, upon the recommendation of the Minister, a guarantee for the payment of any loan or loans made to farmers for the encouragement of any branch of agriculture, food and rural affairs, upon such terms as the LGIC considers proper;

And whereas sections 49 and 54 of the Legislation Act, 2006 have the effect of providing the LGIC with the power to amend, revoke or replace from time to time an order establishing a program under sections 7(1) and 8 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act;

And whereas the Program was originally established pursuant to sections 7(1) and 8 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and is continued under the Previous Order;

And whereas the Minister has recommended to the LGIC the amendments to the Program contained herein;

Now therefore and pursuant to my authority under sections 7(1) and 8 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act and sections 49 and 54 of the Legislation Act, 2006, I hereby order the Previous Order be amended as set out herein.

Part 1 – Interpretation of This Order

    1. For the purposes of this Order, the following terms will have the following meanings:
      “Order”
      means this Order-in-Council; and
      “Previous Order”
      means Order-in-Council 702/2016, as amended by Order-in-Council 124/2019 and Order-in-Council 1368/2021.
    2. Any capitalized term not defined herein will have the same meaning as set out in the Previous Order.

Part 2 – Amendment to Part I – Interpretation of The Previous Order

  1. The definition of “Person” in section 1 of the Previous Order is revoked and replaced with the following:
    “Person”
    means a legally recognized entity and includes, for greater certainty, an individual or a corporation;

Part 3 – Amendment to Part Viii – Purchase Orders and Purchasing Cattle, Feeder Agreements and Producing Cattle, Selling Cattle and Payments from The Sale of Cattle Under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program of The Previous Order

  1. Section 34 of the Previous Order is revoked and replaced with the following:
    34. The total aggregate of all outstanding Purchase Orders issued to an Applicant shall not at any time exceed:
    1. One million dollars ($1,000,000.00) where the Applicant is an individual and has fed at least one hundred (100) head of Cattle in the previous twelve (12) months or participated in the Program in the previous Program Year and complied with the terms and conditions of this OIC, the Program Guidelines, the Purchase Orders issued to the Applicant and previous Feeder Agreements;
    2. One million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000.00) where the Applicant is a corporation and has fed at least one hundred (100) head of Cattle in the previous twelve (12) months or participated in the Program in the previous Program Year and complied with the terms and conditions of this OIC, the Program Guidelines, the Purchase Orders issued to the Applicant and previous Feeder Agreements; and
    3. One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in the case of any Applicant that does not meet the requirements set out under section 34(a) or section 34(b) of this OIC.

Part 4 – transition

  1. The Previous Order applies to any matters arising thereunder prior to when this Order comes into effect.

This Order comes into effect upon signing.

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Approved and Ordered: February 17, 2022