British Columbia Vegetable Marketing Order

Summary#

The Government of Canada registered the British Columbia Vegetable Order (SOR/2020-259) to update how the marketing of vegetables from British Columbia is handled in interprovincial and export trade. The Order clarifies who can set and collect levies, updates definitions (including potatoes and strawberries for manufacturing), and repeals the older SOR/81-49; it came into force on December 4, 2020 and was published in the Canada Gazette on December 23, 2020.

What it does#

• Gives authority to the provincial marketing body, the British Columbia Vegetable Marketing Commission, and the provincial oversight body, the British Columbia Farm Industry Review Board, to regulate marketing of BC vegetables in interprovincial and export trade the same way they do within BC.
• Allows the Commission to fix, impose and collect levies or charges from people who produce or market whole vegetables (and to classify producers into groups with different levy rates).
• Clarifies the meaning of “vegetable,” explicitly including potatoes and strawberries intended for manufacturing.
• Adds the provincial supervisory board’s oversight and approval role for the Commission’s actions.
• Removes the requirement to make some technical amendments at the federal level, so certain changes can be handled more directly at the provincial level.
• Repeals the previous British Columbia Vegetable Order (SOR/81-49) and updates language to match other similar delegation orders under the Agricultural Products Marketing Act.

Who's affected#

• Vegetable producers and growers in British Columbia, including potato growers and those growing strawberries for processing.
• The British Columbia Vegetable Marketing Commission and the British Columbia Farm Industry Review Board, which now have clarified roles.
• Processors, exporters and marketers who handle BC-grown vegetables in interprovincial or export trade.
• Consumers are only indirectly affected; the Order does not itself set levy amounts.
• The notice says it does not impose new costs on businesses and that small businesses are not expected to be affected.

Why it matters#

• It tidies up who can make and approve rules about moving and selling BC vegetables across provincial and international borders. That can speed up decisions and reduce legal uncertainty.
• By allowing some changes to be managed at the provincial level, it aims to shorten the time needed to update levy or marketing rules.
• The Order is mainly technical and descriptive; it does not itself change levy amounts or create new fees.