DRC Current By Laws and Operating Rules

The produce world is constantly changing and to fulfil our mandate, DRC changes with it.  Many of you have been members since we opened our doors for membership in 1999.   Much has changed since those early days.

The most current By Laws and Operating Rules printed February 8, 2019 are found on the DRC website.   We urge you to review those regularly as the current By Laws and Operating Manual found on our website are the ones which govern your membership rights and obligations.

Your DRC membership is more than the contract, by laws, and operating rules in force when you first joined the DRC.   Changes are done with complete transparency, including proper notice, approval by the Board of Directors and by the membership.

Minor changes are discussed and when appropriate approved by the Board.   More significant potential changes are brought to your attention via a Notice of Motion in advance of the Annual Meeting of members and are voted on at the Annual Meeting.  The procedures for these changes are set forth in the Corporation’s By-Laws which are approved by Corporations Canada.

Some of these changes have been to modernize and clarify, such as the recent Dispute Resolution Rules. Some have been in response to regulation, such as the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, which triggered for example changes to our former membership categories.   Others have been in response to member requests and consultations, such as the change to the definition of fresh fruits and vegetables in 2008.

Our monthly newsletter “Solutions” also highlights changes and potential impact of changes approved by the Board of Directors and the membership.

DRC Trading Standards – Section 3 to Section 7

Further to our previous article in which we discussed the Section 1, General Rules of Conduct and informed that we will be summarizing DRC’s Trading Standards, this time we will address Section 3, General Records, Section 4, Documents to be Preserved, Section 5, Receiving Record, Section 6, Sales Tickets/Invoices. And Section 7, Lot numbers.

All these sections specify what documents must be preserved and for how long period of time.

Section 3, General Records indicates that all the documents pertaining to a transaction must be kept for a minimum period of two years and must be available if required. It is a DRC member’s responsibility to maintain records that will disclose essential facts regarding the transactions.

Section 4, Documents to be Preserved lists all the general documents that must be preserved such as Bills of Lading, Purchasing Orders, Invoices, Manifests, Receipts, Confirmation of Sales, Memorandums of Credit, Account of Sales, to name a just a few.

Section 5, Receiving Record states that all receivers shall keep in order of receipt a record of all produce received and must clearly show arrival dates and the carrier’s, seller’s or consignor’s information.

Section 6, Sales Tickets/Invoices specifically mentions what information Sales Tickets/Invoices must contain: serial numbers, date of sale, purchaser’s information, seller’s information, description and price of the commodity, lot numbers, etc. In addition, this section states that DRC has the right to request a copy of the sales ticket(s) in case of a dispute.

Section 7, Lot Numbers. An identifying lot number shall be assigned to each load. The lot number is an excellent method to preserve the identity of a load.

In our experience, having all these documents well organized and easily available for a period of two years, can save you time and money in the event of a dispute. Remember that a Notice of Dispute can be filed 9 months from the date the dispute arose and not having some of these documents may result in losing a claim.

Canadian Confirmation of Sale (COS) for CFIA

With the coming into force of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), from a regulatory perspective, the COS document has become obsolete. This form has been extremely useful to CFIA for inputting information, such as DRC membership number, for those companies still doing paper customs clearances instead of electronic clearances.

The Integrated Import Declaration has been updated to reflect the new SFCR changes and CFIA is asking that importers to use electronic systems for customs clearances.

For those of you still performing paper-based clearances, DRC is working with CFIA to update any required forms, but it is taking some time. We will give you more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, you may want to visit the CFIA website (www.inspection.gc.ca) and learn more about electronic customs clearances to save you time and effort.

How to Initiate the Arbitration Process

Q. After an unsuccessful informal mediation process, our company is moving to arbitration for the first time. Could you give us some guidance on how to present our case so that we don’t feel the need to hire an attorney or someone else to represent us?

A. Jaime Bustamante. First, let me begin by saying that depending on the complexity of the case, it may not be a bad idea to hire someone with experience such an attorney, to represent you. However, you should be aware that with arbitration, as with any litigation before the courts, attorney fees are not necessarily awarded as part of the settlement. And if they are awarded to the prevailing party, it may not be the full amount.

At the beginning of the formal process, the DRC will provide you with a Statement of Claim (SOC) template which includes detailed instructions on how to present your case. Clarification will be provided by staff as required. Here’s a brief description of the information required in the Statement of Claim:

  1. A demand that the dispute be referred to arbitration. This demand is already included in the SOC template mentioned above.
  2. The names, addresses, telephone number, and email of the parties. Make sure to include in your SOC the name of a responsibly connected person to the company such as the owner, shareholder, director, etc. Most of the times a sales person is not a responsibly connected person.
  3. A description of the claim and an indication of the facts supporting it. In order to have a better understanding of your claim, supporting documents (exhibits) such as invoices, B.L., correspondence, inspections and other documents, should be label as ”Exhibit A”, “Exhibit B”, etc. By labelling the exhibits, it becomes easier for the reader to understand the claim. In an Expedite Arbitration there is no hearing, therefore, it is very important the arbitrator can understand and follow the exhibits to be presented.
  4. The relief or remedy sought and the amount claimed. Don’t forget to include the arbitration fees, interest, and attorney fees as part of your remedy.
  5. The Statement of Claim must be delivered by fax/email and mail to the DRC and the Respondent. DRC’s Dispute Resolutions Rules required you to send two (2) copies of your SOC.

Once the informal mediation process ends, the documents exchanged during that stage are sealed and remained confidential. Not even the arbitrator will have access to the informal file. However, this does not mean that you can’t summarize the information gathered during the informal procedure and include it in your SOC.

Finally, be reminded that the information you provide in support of your case will have an impact on the arbitrator’s decision and award.

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