Ontario livestock truckers face CFIA fines

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

The provincial organization that represents truckers blames a lack of uniform standards for Ontario livestock truckers topping the spring quarter list of violations from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Ontario livestock truckers racked up almost $100,000 in penalties from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency this spring – the highest of any region in Canada. The Agency released the numbers in reports last week. The fines are imposed for violating humane transportation requirements at auction markets, slaughter facilities, border crossings and during roadside inspections.

Deanna Pagnan, director of the livestock transporters division for the Ontario Trucking Association, says the numbers reflect the lack of uniform standards for CFIA inspectors when it comes to issuing administrative monetary penalties. Inspectors have several options when they come across a violation. They can recommend increased education, send a letter, hand down a warning, issue a penalty, seize or detain a vehicle.

Maybe the inspectors in the east are more apt to assess the administrative monetary penalties than then ones in the West, she says.

From April to June, CFIA imposed on Ontario livestock truckers 23 animal transportation monetary penalties, 10 of them included fines with a amount of $92,000. (CFIA statistics refer to instances where warnings were issued instead of fines as “monetary penalties” as well.) In contrast, truckers in the Atlantic region faced four penalties with one fine of $11,800. In Quebec 13 penalties resulted in seven fines totaling $11,800, while nine truckers in the West faced eight fines totaling $18,600. Across Canada, a total of $134,200 in 31 fines were levied for 49 violations of livestock trucking rules.

The livestock transportation numbers are only one category of administrative monetary penalties. CIFA inspectors imposed more administrative monetary penalties in Ontario than in any other region in Canada.

From April to June, Ontario companies racked up 47 administrative monetary penalties and were assessed $215,300. By comparison, Atlantic region transpoters had 11 penalties and a monetary total of $11,800. Quebec had 31 penalties and a monetary total of $20,000, while the West had 17 penalties and a monetary total of $44,000.

In total the CFIA issued 106 administrative monetary penalties from April to June for a total of $292,600.

Crystal Mackay, Ontario Farm Animal Council executive director, says she’ll be putting the CFIA’s numbers on the agenda of the council board meeting scheduled for Friday “to see what the board thinks about it and if there’s any follow up needed.” She expects the number of violations will surprise livestock industry officials. “It’s higher than I would have guessed.”

The council has been getting anecdotal reports from various people in the industry that CFIA is enforcing the rules more vigilantly. “These numbers certainly back up the anecdotal evidence that this is happening.”

Mackay says the council might meet with CFIA staff to review the numbers and get their explanation on where they think the problems are.

CFIA spokesperson Alice d’Anjou says animal transportation penalties are higher in Ontario compared to other regions due to geographic and industry differences. Those differences “can result in a varying number of administrative monetary penalties or prosecutions in each area across Canada.”

There are also sometimes seasonal factors, she explains. For example, penalties may be issued for transporting poultry without due regard for extreme temperatures.

Three Ontario companies are on CFIA’s list of repeat animal transportation violators in the last five years. They are: Maple Lodge Farms – 22 violations and $102,400 in penalties; Little Rock Farm Trucking – 12 violations and $45,000 in penalties; and M & J Carriers – three violations and $6,000 in penalties.

Maple Lodge Farms, a major Ontario poultry processor, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Repeat violators are companies that in the course of business have committed more than one violation under the Health of Animals Act or its regulations within the previous five years, CFIA’s website says.

One major concern among truckers is the rules about transporting animals without a tag, says Pagnan. Animals are tagged by either farmers or a livestock facility but never by truckers, she says. Still truckers are liable for an administrative monetary penalty if the animal is transported without a tag.

The truckers association is talking to the CFIA about changing the rules.

CFIA’s website says the agency verifies compliance with humane transportation requirements at various locations, including auction markets, slaughter facilities, and border crossings into Canada. CFIA also does random inspections.

Ontario also didn’t do very well in the plant protection section with a total of 19 penalties and a monetary total of $122,000. The Atlantic region had seven warnings but no penalties. Quebec had no violations while companies in the West faced four financial penalties of $25,000.
 
An example of a plant protection violation is importing root crops with soil attached to them, d’Anjou says. BF