It is Done

It is done.  The Tribunal's has accused our chicken appeal as frivolous, vexatious, and done in bad faith.

The answer to those allegations was made late last night, so it's delivery is effective as of today 2014/08/14, one day before the Tribunal's deadline.

Appellant's Answer to Tribunal's Allegation and Threat to Dismiss our Appeal 
10 pages, 171 kB, Adobe Acrobat X pdf file

Appellant's Submission Brief (case law, statutes, regulations, documents, and 375 signatures on Petitions requesting the Tribunal to allow appeal to proceed to full hearing), 27.35 MB, 1,085 pages, Adobe Acrobat X pdf file.  (It a BIG file, so it takes a few minutes to download.  Be patient)

Now the other parties have 10 days to respond with their view of the world.  That window closes on Sunday Aug. 24th, so they will have till Monday Aug. 25th at 4:00 PM to submit their response.  After that, the Tribunal will decide, and issue its written decision in 30 days or less.

Both the Federal and Provincial governments have a right to input their position to the Tribunal.  Will they sit on the sidelines in full neutrality, choosing to let David and Goliath battle to the death?  Or, will these powerful past allies of Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO") again pick up the proxy sword and do as CFO's lobbyists instruct the government to do, come to the aid of CFO, the Frankenstein creation and favorite son of the governments?  A son only its Mother could love.

Sometimes strange, unexpected things happen.  Perhaps this is one of those cases.

I was asked a question by someone who has been in a ringside seat for these Chicken Wars.  Was I a lawyer in my former life?

I replied "No".  I explained that I have a "dangerous" ability to learn quickly, and to finish what I started.

One of the mistakes I made was in ever going down this road in the first place.  What was I thinking!  My family, friends, & neighbours regularly shake their heads in disbelief at what I have been going through for the last 3 years to bring these issues to the forefront, seeking government's attention and change for the better.

However, I think it unreasonable to expect this level of dedication that has been demanded of me so as to improve this critical food system for Canadians.  No wonder the average citizen never considers attempting what I have attempted.  Clearly this system, and all other governmental systems need to be much more responsive to the needs of the people.

As President Kennedy said:

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."


(JFK's "Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress," White House reception for diplomatic corp of the Latin American republics, March 13, 1962. Public Papers of the Presidents – John F. Kennedy (1962), p. 223)

Perhaps we need to solve the government's problem with accountability & responsiveness before we can use that more responsive government to solve the citizen's growing list of other issues.

Perhaps I erred by trying to fix the wrong problem.