Mandate and Legislation

The Drainage Act provides three bodies to which a landowner may appeal when a drainage works is being proposed or improved. The appeal bodies are the Court of Revision, the Tribunal and the Drainage Referee. 

The Tribunal hears appeals on a range of matters under the Drainage Act including: 

1. Dissatisfaction with an Engineer’s Report on grounds that:
   1. the estimated cost of the project is greater than the expected benefits; 
   2. the proposed drainage works should be modified (appellant to specify what should be changed) 
   3. the compensation or allowances provided in the report are inadequate or excessive; 
   4. the report says the work is not required, or is impractical or cannot be constructed. 
2. Dissatisfaction with the decision of the Court of Revision regarding the assessment of the costs for the drainage works in an Engineer’s Report.
3. Dissatisfaction with the quality of the construction of a drainage works during construction or up to one year from the date of completion of the drainage works.
4. Decisions of a Municipal Council with respect to a drain under the Drainage Act, with power to compel it to appoint an engineer, adopt an Engineering Report, etc.
5. Dissatisfaction with an environmental appraisal of a drainage works.

The Tribunal has the power to fix costs of the hearing and award them against a party to the hearing but does so in few cases. See Sections 98(10) and 98(11) of the Drainage Act with respect to awards of costs.  In awarding costs, if any, the Tribunal may also give consideration to Rule 28 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure.  

Most decisions of the Tribunal are final. See section 101 of the Drainage Act. 

Available to any person who feels aggrieved by decisions of marketing boards, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission or a Director appointed under the Farm Products Marketing Act or the Milk Act. (For example, decisions and policies relating to: quota allocations; pricing or requests for exemption from marketing board policies; penalties imposed by a marketing board.) 

The Tribunal obtains its authority to hear appeals under Section 16 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act. Appeals may be made from orders, directions, decisions, and policies of the marketing boards or a director, or from orders, directions or decisions of the Farm Products Marketing Commission that are not of general application. 

Regulations of the marketing boards may be appealed to the Tribunal but regulations of the Farm Products Marketing Commission cannot. 

The Tribunal has the power to order the local board, the Director and the Commission to take any action they are authorized to take under the Farm Products Marketing Act or the Milk Act and as the Tribunal considers proper.  Under Section 18 of the Act, the Minister may review a decision of the Tribunal. 

Section 16(5) of the Act outlines the pre-conditions that must be met prior to filing an appeal with the Tribunal.  An appeal should be filed within one year of the decision to which the party is aggrieved. 

Under the Agricultural Products Insurance Act, 1996 (formerly the Crop Insurance Act (Ontario) 1996), the Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all disputes between AgriCorp and an insured person arising out of an adjustment of a loss under a contract of insurance, provided the appeal has been filed within the time allowed. The Tribunal can also rule on whether or not a person qualifies for a contract of insurance if AgriCorp has denied coverage. Appeal proceedings are governed by Section 10 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 140/96 made under the Act. The Tribunal is independent of AgriCorp. 

The Tribunal accredits general farm organizations in order to receive funding from the Farm Business Registration program, and determines the eligibility of a Francophone farm organization to receive special funding. 

Regulation 722/93 (amended to O. Reg. 50/14), under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 sets out the criteria to be met in order to receive accreditation and special funding status. 

The Tribunal reviews applications and holds hearings concerning applications from individuals who request an exemption from filing or payment under the Act because of their genuinely held religious convictions or beliefs. 

The Tribunal hears appeals regarding the eligibility of agricultural properties for the farm property class designation. Under the Assessment Act, farmlands are placed in a separate tax category and are assessed at a rate of 25% of the rate for residential properties.  Appeals relating to the farm property class designation can only be referred to the Tribunal by the Assessment Review Board. 

Legislation to protect farmers from unreasonable nuisance complaints has been in effect since December 15, 1988, when the Food Production Protection Act (“FPPA”) came into force. Other policies designed to address nuisance concerns existed prior to 1988. The FPPA protected farmers from nuisance complaints arising from odour, noise, and dust. This protection proved inadequate, however, as land development pressures increased in agricultural areas. 

The Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998 (“FFPPA” or the “Act”) replaced the FPPA. The Act protects and encourages the development and improvement of agricultural lands for the production of food, fibre, and other agricultural and horticultural products. According to the preamble of the legislation, the legislature was concerned that it was becoming increasingly difficult for farmers to effectively produce these commodities because of discomfort and inconveniences caused by farming operations to residents of adjacent lands. The Act was established to promote and protect agricultural uses and normal farm practices in agricultural areas in a way that balances the needs of the agricultural community with provincial health, safety, and environmental concerns. 

There are two main themes in the FFPPA: Protection of farming operations from nuisance complaints and protection from restrictive municipal bylaws: 

1. Nuisance complaints: There are seven types of disturbances covered by the Act: odour, noise, dust, flies, smoke, light, and vibration. The Act protects agricultural operations (see Guide section 1.d.) from nuisance complaints arising from any of these disturbances, provided the disturbance is caused by a normal farm practice (see Guide section 1.e). 
2. Municipal bylaws: Under the Act, if a farmer or a person who has demonstrable plans to carry on an agricultural or a municipality is concerned that a municipal bylaw is restricting a normal farm practice that is carried on as part of an agricultural operation, they may apply to the NFPPB for an order that the bylaw would not apply at that location. 

The Act does not give farmers the right to pollute the natural environment or to contravene the Environmental Protection Act, the Pesticides Act, the Health Protection and Promotion Act, or the Ontario Water Resources Act. The Act also states that a practice that is inconsistent with a regulation made under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 is not a normal farm practice. 

The Tribunal hears applications and appeals arising from matters under the Farm Implements Act. Applications may arise from disputes between manufacturers or distributors and dealers of farm equipment, or between an end buyer and a dealer, distributor or manufacturer.  Appeals may also arise from a decision of a Director related to the registration of a dealer or distributor. Parties to a dispute under Section 5 of the Act may only apply to the Tribunal for a hearing after mediation has been attempted. 

The purpose of the AEPA is to protect the rights of agricultural employees while having regard to the unique characteristics of agriculture. 

The Tribunal may hear complaints where it is alleged that there has been a contravention of the AEPA. A specially appointed roster of Tribunal members hears these complaints. The special roster has adopted the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedures for hearings under the AEPA. 

Those aggrieved by licensing decisions made under the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, the Animals for Research Act, the Animal Health Act, 2009, the Grains Act, the Farm Products Marketing Act, the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001, the Livestock and Livestock Products Act, the Livestock Medicines Act, and the Milk Act, can write to the Tribunal requesting a hearing. Under the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, the Tribunal can hear appeals from a decision of the Director to not include or remove plants from a list of plants that comply with the Act and regulations.  

under the Commodity Board Members Act and makes determinations on whether a member of a commodity board is in contravention of any regulation or order under the Farm Products Marketing Act or the Milk Act; or where a plan prescribes qualifications for a person to be elected or appointed a member of a commodity board, whether the member conforms with such qualifications.