You're using an outdated browser. This website will not display correctly and some features will not work.
Learn more about the browsers we support for a faster and safer online experience.

Français

Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993

ONTARIO REGULATION 723/93

GENERAL

Note: This Regulation was revoked on January 1, 2021. (See: O. Reg. 782/20, s. 5)

Last amendment: 782/20.

Legislative History: 479/94, 480/96, 446/97, 42/99, 442/09, 363/12 (as am. by 292/13), 50/14, CTR 11 JL 11 - 2, 490/17, 782/20.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

1. (1) A person who carries on a farming business shall file with the Minister a completed farming business registration form in every year in respect of which the annual gross income of the farming business equals or exceeds $7,000.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 1 (1).

(2) The annual gross income of a farming business shall be determined in the same manner as the gross income from farming of the farming business is determined under the Income Tax Act (Canada) for the most recent taxation year for which a tax return was filed in relation to the farming business during the eighteen-month period preceding the date on which the annual registration form is required.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 1 (2).

(3) For the purposes of clause 2 (1) (b) of the Act, the determination of the annual gross income of a farming business shall be made by the Ministry in accordance with subsection (2) based on financial, inventory and business information and records provided by the farming business upon request. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 1.

1.1 (1) The following two classes of farming business registration forms are established for the purpose of prescribing the information that must be included in the forms under subsection 2 (3) of the Act:

1. The long version of the farming business registration form which shall contain all the information required under subsection 2 (1).

2. The short version of the farming business registration form which shall contain the information required under subsection 2 (2). O. Reg. 50/14, s. 2.

(2) The long version of the farming business registration form shall be used by,

(a) any person who files a farming business registration form with the Minister in 2015, 2020, 2025 or in any year that is at five year intervals thereafter; and

(b) a person who files a farming business registration form with the Minister if the farming business was not assigned a registration number for the previous year. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 2.

(3) The short version of the form shall be used by a person who wishes to file a farming business registration form with the Minister in any year that the long version of the form is not required. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 2.

2. (1) The following information is prescribed as the information that must be included in the long version of the farming business registration form for the purposes of subsection 2 (3) of the Act:

1. Contact information for the farm business, including,

i. the name, address, phone number, email address and fax address for the farming business,

ii. the name, address, phone number, email address and fax address of an individual representative of the farming business, if different than sub-paragraph i, and

iii. the primary farming location of the farming business.

2. The business structure of the farming business, including if the farming business is operating as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation or a trust and,

i. in the case of a farming business operating as a partnership, the names of all of the partners,

ii. in the case of a farming business operating as a corporation that does not offer its shares to the public, the names of all of the shareholders,

iii. in the case of a farming business operating as a corporation that offers its shares to the public, a co-operative incorporated under the Co-operative Corporations Act or a non-profit corporation incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act, the names of its directors and officers, and

iv. in the case of a farming business operating as a trust, all of the trustees.

Note: On the later of July 1, 2014 and the day subsection 4 (1) of the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 comes into force, subparagraph 2 iv is amended by striking out “a non-profit corporation incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act” and substituting “a non-profit corporation without share capital incorporated under the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 or any predecessor of that Act”. (See: O. Reg. 50/14, ss. 3 (2), 8 (2))

3. Socio-demographic data, including the age, education and income range of the following individuals:

i. If the farming business is operating as a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor.

ii. If the farming business is operating as a partnership, the partner who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

iii. If the farming business is operating as a corporation that does not offer its shares to the public, the shareholder who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

iv. If the farming business is operating as a corporation that offers shares to the public, a co-operative corporation incorporated under the Co-operative Corporations Act or a non-profit corporation incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act, the officer who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

Note: On the later of July 1, 2014 and the day subsection 4 (1) of the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 comes into force, subparagraph 3 iv is amended by striking out “a non-profit corporation incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act” and substituting “a non-profit corporation without share capital incorporated under the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 or any predecessor of that Act”. (See: O. Reg. 50/14, ss. 3 (3), 8 (2))

v. If the farming business is operating as a trust, the names of the trustees and its beneficiaries.

4. Information about the farming business including,

i. the number of acres in total,

ii. the number of acres under cultivation,

iii. whether all or part of the land is rented or owned, and

iv. how the land is being used.

5. Labour and productivity of the farming business including,

i. the number of individuals employed on a part-time, regular full-time and seasonable basis,

ii. the payroll for each type of individual employed and the total payroll for all types of farm employees, and

iii. a description of work that is done on the farm and a description of work that is done off the farm.

6. The farming business’ finances, including:

i. the value of the capital goods used in the farming business, value of the farming business, income for the farming business, sources of income for the farming business, debt for the farming business,

ii. the type of crops, livestock, poultry, other animals or other agricultural products produced in the farming business that contribute to the farming business’ income, and

iii. the top three sources of income for the farming business of the agricultural products specified in subparagraph ii.

7. The name and position within the farming business of the individual signing the form.

8. Any identification numbers that have been assigned to the farming business by the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada or any agents of the Government of Ontario or the Government of Canada, including business numbers for AgriStability or for any program that succeeds AgriStability. O. Reg. 490/17, s. 1.

(1.1) The following information is prescribed as information that must be included in the long version of the farming business registration form for the purposes of subsection 2 (3) of the Act if the form indicates that the information is required:

1. The marketing and sales practices for the farming business including sales channels, marketing strategies and value-added production.

2. The inputs the farming business uses including fertilizer, pesticides and tillage.

3. Crop and livestock management practices the farming business follows including soil and water health practices, stocking rates, grazing rates, environmental protection measures.

4. Any best management practices the farming business follows including environmental practices, animal health and welfare practices, codes of practices and voluntary practices.

5. Any biosecurity and food safety traceability practices the farming business follows including any national standards or certifications received in this area.

6. Any technology the farming business uses including online yield reporting and precision agriculture.

7. Any business management practices the farming business uses including succession planning and business plans.

8. The ethno-cultural background of the following individuals:

i. If the farming business is operating as a sole proprietorship, the sole proprietor.

ii. If the farming business is operating as a partnership, the partner who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

iii. If the farming business is operating as a corporation that does not offer its shares to the public, the shareholder who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

iv. If the farming business is operating as a corporation that offers shares to the public, a co-operative corporation incorporated under the Co-operative Corporations Act or a non-profit corporation incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act, the officer who is the most active in the management of the farming business.

v. If the farming business is operating as a trust, the names of the trustees and its beneficiaries. O. Reg. 490/17, s. 1.

(2) The following information is prescribed as the information that must be contained in the short version of the farming business registration form for the purposes of subsection 2 (3) of the Act:

1. The approximate annual gross income of the farming business, with reference to the income ranges specified in the form.

2. Any identification number that has been assigned to the farming business for purposes of the AgriStability program or any other similar or successor agricultural funding program that is operated by Ontario, either alone or jointly with the federal government, and is listed on the form. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 3 (1).

2.1 For the purposes of section 3 of the Act, the purposes for which the Minister may use information received from farming business registration forms include,

(a) validating eligibility for Ministry and other programs that require a registration number;

(b) providing information to Statistics Canada at its request;

(c) providing information to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at its request; and

(d) such other purposes as the Minister may determine are in the public interest. O. Reg. 490/17, s. 2.

3. (1) For the purposes of subsection 21 (1) of the Act,

“cheque” has the same meaning as in the Bills of Exchange Act (Canada), but does not include an undated, stale-dated or post-dated cheque.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 3 (1).

(2) The amount of the payment to be provided to the Ministry under subsection 21 (1) of the Act is $240 plus the applicable amount of any harmonized sales tax (HST) that may be charged.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 3 (2); O. Reg. 442/09, s. 1; O. Reg. 490/17, s. 3 (1, 2).

Note: On January 1, 2022, subsection 3 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “$240” and substituting “$255”. (See: O. Reg. 490/17, s. 3 (3))

4. Revoked: O. Reg. 490/17, s. 4.

5. (1) In this section,

“supporter”, with respect to a farm organization, means,

(a) any farming business that has made a payment under section 21 (1) of the Act to the organization and has not requested a refund of the payment under subsection 21 (8) of the Act, whether or not the farming business is a member of the organization, and

(b) any person or entity that is not a farming business required to file a farming business registration form under section 2 of the Act and that is a member of the organization. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).

(2) A farm organization qualifies for accreditation if it meets the following criteria:

1. It is incorporated under a general or special Act of the Legislature.

2. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.

3. Its purpose is to represent persons carrying on all types of farming businesses and it is willing to represent a farming business no matter what types of crops, livestock, poultry or other agricultural products may be produced by the farming business.

4. The fee required for membership in the farm organization, or for a class of membership in the organization, consists of the payment to the farm organization of the amount that is payable under subsection 21 (1) of the Act and prescribed under subsection 3 (2).

5. At least 250 farming businesses that hold registration numbers under the Act have,

i. become supporters of the farm organization, or

ii. in the case of a farm organization that is not accredited, paid a fee of at least $195 to the farm organization.

6. The majority of its supporters are farming businesses described in clause (a) of the definition of “supporter” in subsection (1).

7. It has at least 12 local branches located in Ontario and contributes to its local branches at least 10 percent of the part of its gross revenue for any given year that is received from payments made under section 21 of the Act and is determined before taxes, excluding any refunds that may be paid under subsection 21 (8) of the Act.

8. Each local branch of the farm organization meets the following requirements:

i. It represents at least 10 farming businesses described in paragraph 5.

ii. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.

iii. It holds an annual general meeting.

iv. It is entitled to send a representative to any meeting of the farm organization to which local branches are invited to send representatives.

9. It has an established process that allows farming businesses that are supporters of the farm organization and have a registration number under the Act to make submissions to the farm organization on any relevant issue, and that requires the farm organization to consider the submissions and respond.

10. Subject to subsection (3), it has entered into a written agreement with the Minister and with other farm organizations to provide special funding to the francophone organization that is eligible for special funding under section 12 or 13 of the Act.

11. It prepares audited financial statements in accordance with subsection (4) and makes them available to the public within 30 days of its annual general meetings and, if the Tribunal has held any hearings under the Act, it submitted a copy of its most recent audited financial statements to the Tribunal before the hearing began.

12. In the case of an accredited farm organization, it has developed a written service standard setting out the rules applicable to applications for, and the timing and processing of, refunds under subsection 21 (8) of the Act and the service standard is available to the public upon request.

13. Provides education or training in agricultural matters.

14. Provides advice and analysis to governments, administrative tribunals or advisory bodies concerning agricultural issues and the development of programs or policies that are of interest to persons carrying on farming businesses. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1); O. Reg. 490/17, s. 5.

(3) The requirement to enter into an agreement described in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) does not apply to a farm organization if that farm organization,

(a) is not accredited at the time it applies to the Tribunal for accreditation; and

(b) has agreed in writing to enter into an agreement described in paragraph 10 of subsection (2) promptly upon receiving its accreditation. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (2).

(4) An audited financial statement shall include:

1. The total amount received by the farm organization under subsection 21 (3) of the Act in the year.

2. The number of refunds paid by the farm organization under subsection 21 (8) of the Act and the total amount of those refunds.

3. The amount contributed by the farm organization to its local branches.

4. Financial statements and an auditor’s report prepared by an auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 5 (1).

6. An accredited farm organization may apply for renewal of its accreditation only during the period that is no sooner than nine months and no later than six months before the expiry of its accreditation.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 6.

7. Revoked: O. Reg. 490/17, s. 6.

8. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, a francophone organization representing farmers in Ontario may be eligible for special funding if, in addition to meeting the criteria set out in clauses 12 (a) and (b) of the Act, it meets the following criteria:

1. It promotes knowledge of agriculture and agricultural issues amongst francophones in agricultural and rural areas of Ontario.

2. It provides advice and analysis to governments, administrative tribunals or advisory bodies concerning agricultural issues and the development of programs or policies that are of interest to francophones carrying on farming businesses in Ontario.

3. It provides education or training in respect of agricultural matters or provides information on obtaining such education or training to francophones carrying on farming businesses in Ontario.

4. It plans, promotes or implements or assists in planning, promoting or implementing economic development projects in agricultural and rural areas of Ontario.

5. It maintains a liaison with the accredited organizations and other francophone organizations representing farmers.

6. Persons sitting on its board of directors have all been elected, except for persons who were appointed to fill a vacancy or in other exceptional circumstances.

7. It prepares audited financial statements annually in accordance with subsection (2) and makes them available to the public within 30 days of its annual general meetings and, if the Tribunal has held any hearings under the Act, it submitted a copy of its most recent audited financial statements to the Tribunal before the hearing began.

8. Revoked: O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (1).

9. It is incorporated under a general or special Act of the Legislature.

10. It has at least forty members who,

i. carry on a farming business in Ontario, and

ii. have paid the membership fee.

11. It has at least twenty-one members who carry on a farming business for which there is a current farming business registration.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 8 (1); O. Reg. 442/09, s. 3; O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (1).

(2) An audited financial statement shall include:

1. The total amount of special funding received by the francophone organization in the year.

2. Financial statements and an auditor’s report prepared by an auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.

3. The number of members in the organization. O. Reg. 50/14, s. 6 (2).

9. A francophone organization eligible for special funding may apply for renewal of its eligibility only during the period that is no sooner than nine months and no later than six months before the expiry of its eligibility.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 9.

10. In the Act and this Regulation,

“special funding” means the funding accredited organizations have agreed to pay to the eligible francophone organization.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 10.

11. For the purpose of subsection 21 (7) of the Act, the time prescribed for applying for a refund is the ninety-day period starting with the day the registration form is required to be filed.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 11.

12. For the purpose of subsection 11 (7) of the Act, the time prescribed for resubmitting a payment is the thirty-day period starting with the day the Ministry returns the first payment pursuant to subsection 11 (6) of the Act.  O. Reg. 723/93, s. 12.

13. In addition to the information that the Minister must provide under subsection 21 (3) of the Act, the Minister may, under section 3 of the Act, for the purpose of promoting the efficient administration of the Act, provide to the appropriate farm organizations the fax numbers and e-mail addresses provided in the farming business registration forms of those who have provided payments under subsection 21 (1) of the Act.  O. Reg. 42/99, s. 2.

 

Français