Commission of Inquiry into Marketing Practices for the Potato Industry in Eastern Canada : The Commission of Inquiry into Marketing Practises for the Potato Industry in Eastern Canada was established under Order in Council P.C. 1844, 31 May 1984, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1970, c.I-13) and on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture. The Commission was mandated to inquire into and report upon the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing marketing structure for potatoes in intraprovincial, interprovincial and export trade in the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The Commissioner shall make specific reference to: (1) The production base for potatoes in each province; (2) The market structures of: (a) provincial marketing structures and organizations; (b) other marketing organizations; (c) government programs and activities in support of the marketing activity; (d) other assistance programs such as transportation assistance; (e) market potential in interprovincial and export trade and (f) nature of competition, including competition from other producing countries; (3) Inquire into the market efficiency and effectiveness of: (a) movement of potatoes through the different markets, including an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the market activity; (b) pricing policies and procedures in the various markets and (c) existing marketing organizations in: (i) protecting the interest of producers and consumers; (ii) providing information, advice and assistance to producers; (iii) providing for grower participation in the development of policy and programs; and (iv) furthering Canada's ability to compete in export markets. The commissioner was Francis G. Carter. The secretary was Mary Ann Allen.
Potatoes are one of the most important vegetable crop produced in Canada. Although they are grown across the country, 78 percent of the total produced come from the five eastern provinces. Potatoes represent about 75 percent of the total cash receipts from all crops grown in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. These two provinces are the largest producers in Canada followed by Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. In the late seventies, potato production increased significantly due to good growing seasons and larger acreages under cultivation.
For some time producers had been experiencing serious problems with the marketing of potatoes. An inquiry on potato marketing was promised in the Speech from the Throne of 7 December 1983. Before that time, there had been various investigations on the merits of establishing a potato marketing board. For example, a task force on marketing, which was established in December 1979, recommended, in March 1980, that an Eastern Canada Potato Marketing Agency be formed under the Farm Products Marketing Agencies Act (19-20-21 Eliz. II, c.65, 1972). In July, the Eastern Canada Potato Producers Council also made a recommendation to the National Farm Products Marketing Council for a potato marketing agency with power to establish provincial marketing quotas, set minimum prices, and control domestic and international marketing of trade, seed and processing potatoes. The National Farm Products Marketing Council held hearings on this proposal in September 1980. As a result, they found that the current marketing structure was inadequate to protect the interests of producers, that producers had unequal access to markets and that producers organizations were inadequate to assist them with marketing problems.
It was somewhat surprising that only six months after the public inquiry into the marketing of potatoes was appointed in 1984, it was terminated. The exact reason is not clear but, in a letter to the Commissioner, Judge Carter, dated 27 November 1984, the federal Minister of Agriculture, John Wise, blamed its termination on "the urgent need to reduce the unacceptable level of the budget deficit" (see RG 33/84, vol. 1 and Order in Council P.C. 3667, 15 November 1984). RG33-134 General Inventory
