1. BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT ORDER

[1] The hearing in this matter was scheduled to be held on April 8, 2020, in Cranbrook, British Columbia. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the matter was postponed to ensure the safety and health of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal’s (Tribunal) employees and of those who appear before the Tribunal.

[2] On October 1, 2020, the Tribunal informed the public it would resume holding case management conferences and virtual hearings. The Tribunal remains committed to being as flexible as reasonably possible in assisting the public to deal with this extraordinary situation. The Tribunal further stated it would recommence holding in-person hearings when the safety and health of the Tribunal’s employees, and those who appear before the Tribunal, is satisfactory and in respect of all applicable public health measures.

[3] On October 6, 2020, the Tribunal held a mandatory Case Management Conference Call (CMCC) to discuss the hearing process and review the submitted Agreed statement of facts, Agreed list of documents, Witness list and a Joint hearing plan. The CMCC was also held to discuss potential dates for holding a hearing. The parties were also invited to bring to the Tribunal’s attention any preliminary matters.

2. PRELIMINARY MATTER

[4] During the CMCC, the Applicant once again raised his concerns regarding limitation periods. In his view, the Notice of violation (NOV) should be dismissed because of the time elapsed since the issuance of the NOV.

[5] As previously determined in an ORDER dated January 28, 2020, the question of whether or not the NOV matter should be dismissed will be dealt with as a preliminary matter at the hearing. At that time, both parties will be given the opportunity to make their respective submissions.

3. AGREED PROCEEDINGS

[6] The parties confirmed the validity of the Agreed statement of facts, Agreed list of documents and the Joint hearing plan previously submitted. The Applicant also confirmed he had a copy of all the documents in the Agreed list of documents.

4. WITNESSES

[7] The Respondent reaffirmed it intends to call two witnesses: Ms. Lena Lenamon, a provincial inspector from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Ms. Kathy Durham, Inspector at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

[8] The Applicant stated it remains his intention to have Mr. Rob Davidson as a witness.

5. HEARING

[9] The Applicant confirmed his preference was to hold an in-person hearing as originally planned. He further expressed the need to hold the matter sooner rather than later, given the hazardous driving conditions present during winter. The Applicant also confirmed it would be preferable to start the hearing around 10h a.m. because it will take him approximately an hour and a half to get to Cranbrook.

[10] The Respondent did not oppose holding an in-person hearing.

6. ORDERS

[11] As confirmed by the Notice of Hearing, I ORDER that the hearing will be held on November 19^th, 2020 at the Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort, in the Van Horne and Baker room, located 209 Van Horne Street South, Cranbrook, British Columbia, starting at 10:00 a.m.

[12] Regarding the presence of Ms. Lena Lenamon, I ORDER that the Respondent informs the Tribunal no later than October 30, 2020, if arrangements are necessary in order for the witness to participate via videoconference.

Dated at Ottawa, Ontario, on this 15^th day of October, 2020.

Luc Bélanger

Chairperson

Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal