Year: 2018

Are you subject to the proposed CFIA regulatory requirement for a DRC membership? Is DRC membership right for you? Are you taking full advantage of all of your DRC member benefits? These are just a few of the questions you should be asking your DRC support team and we’re making it easy to do so.

DRC will be exhibiting at many regional meetings and will be available at trade shows.

This month look for us at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention, February 21-22, at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Visit DRC at Booth #428 to learn about proposed regulatory requirements expected to come into force in 2018. DRC membership will be required to buy, sell, import or export fresh fruits and vegetables unless otherwise exempted as per the proposed regulations. This will result in a requirement for a mandatory membership in the DRC for some who were not previously subject to the requirements of the CFIA Licensing and Arbitration Regulations.

DRC team members will be on hand to discuss the full range of member benefits including: harmonized standards, procedures and services necessary to avoid and resolve commercial disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner. Make sure you’re taking full advantage of all the services and benefits DRC membership has to offer.

Contact the DRC Help Desk today to schedule an appointment during the convention or simply stop by Booth #428 to meet with a DRC team member:

DRC Help Desk | (+1) 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

Additional details about the convention can be found at: http://www.ofvc.ca/

A friendly reminder that a few of you have DRC membership fees that are past due. Failure to pay your annual membership dues may result in termination of your membership in accordance with the By-laws of the Corporation.

In order to stay in good standing, if you have yet to pay your yearly membership fees, please contact us asap at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

Some of our members have experienced going through the arbitration process and a very few of those have been faced with an unfulfilled award. 90% of the arbitration cases administered by DRC are satisfied as decided by the arbitrator. Rarely there are cases of an unpaid arbitration award, the cause is usually due to the losing party declaring bankruptcy, filling for protection under the court, or debtors disappearing and leaving no assets behind.

When you receive an arbitration decision in your favour and the losing party does not want to pay it, there are steps you should take. Contact DRC immediately, as we may take disciplinary actions against the defaulting party which could include termination of membership. A second step would be for you to register and enforce the arbitration award with the courts.

The courts of the countries signatory to the New York Convention of 1958 and subsequent conventions regarding the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards in court (168 signatory countries) are obligated to recognize and enforce these awards. DRC does not accept members from countries who are not signatory to the New York Convention of 1958 or other international treaties regarding recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.

While it requires a lawyer to register and enforce the award by thecourt, this process is not complicated. DRC will provide most of the documents to enforce the award in court to your lawyer of choice. These documents usually include the arbitration agreement, the arbitration decision and award, and sometimes, the arbitration rules of the administering body (DRC). This process can last a couple of months and will result in a decision from the court.

Please remember we are here to support and assist our members. Contact the DRC Help Desk with any questions or concerns at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

Q. I am a DRC member, what happens when I have a dispute with a company that is not a DRC member?

A: DRC members are expected to abide by certain rules and responsibilities and when a dispute occurs between members, we are here to help. Unless your trading partner is a DRC member, we may be limited in the assistance we can provide. Should a dispute occur between a DRC member and a non-member, we may be able to assist if the non-member signs a voluntary arbitration agreement that will bind them to a final decision by an arbitrator if necessary.

If the non-member signs the voluntary agreement, one of two steps needs to occur. The non-member needs to join DRC or, alternatively, pay a set fee. Once one of the two steps is completed, it is treated as if both parties are DRC members and the dispute process should move forward as normal.

In the absence of a signed voluntary arbitration agreement, because one party is not a DRC member, the option of litigation is a strong possibility. We would like to remind all DRC members to encourage trading partners to join DRC.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

We were contacted recently by one of our members asking about DRC’s point of view regarding differences between a temperature recorder and a real time temperature recorder.  Real time temperature recorders are those which are GPS enabled and can be monitored remotely.  This technology has been available in our industry for a few years now and in our experience, a real time temperature recorder brings additional advantages over a regular temperature recorder. To mentioned a few:

• If a temperature recorder is lost, no data is available. For a real time temperature recorder, data is always available even when real time recorder is lost.
• Location of the load in transit.
• Alert system to indicate temperatures during transit have passed the set temperature range.
• Can avoid temperature impact on product while in transit.
• Anyone can have access to the data as long as certain information such as the serial number is provided.

Simultaneously, a real time temperature recorder also brings additional responsibilities to those who have access to the real time data. The real time data from these devices is considered evidence of the temperatures in transit, just like a tape or digital readout from a traditional temperature recorder. The main difference is, if you become aware of a temperature problem in transit and nothing is done about it, all those who had access could  take on liability for not taking steps to limit or stop  potential deterioration to the product.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]