Evergreen Colony Ltd. Fined $5,000 for Violating the Canada Agricultural Products Act

December 24, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba - On May 15, 2009, the Evergreen Colony Ltd. operating as Evergreen Poultry Farms in the Winnipeg area, pleaded guilty to an offence related to the grading and selling of eggs. It was convicted on one count of violating the Canada Agricultural Products Act.

Judge Lord of the Provincial Court of Manitoba ordered the company to pay a fine of $5,000 within one month.

The single charge addressed numerous illegal acts committed by the company between January 10, 2005 and January 29th, 2006. During that time, Evergreen Poultry Farms graded eggs that failed to meet the requirements set out in Schedule 1 of the Egg Regulations and then sold those eggs to a Winnipeg grocery store. Specifically, the company graded eggs as Canada C which were not conveyed to a registered processed egg station in accordance with Section 4(c) of Schedule 1 of the Egg Regulations, thereby committing the offence contrary to Section 33(1)(a) of the Canada Agricultural Products Act.

It should be noted that Officers representing the City of Winnipeg Environmental Services Division contributed towards the successful prosecution of this case.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for enforcing a variety of federal legislation, including the Canada Agricultural Products Act and its regulations. The Canada Agricultural Products Act regulates, among other things, the marketing of agricultural products in import, export and interprovincial trade.

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