Kamenz will stay on until the end of the year
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Geri Kamenz is leaving his current position as chairman of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission at the end of 2016.
Kamenz also served as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s Environment and Science Committee, member of the Canadian Farm Debt Mediation Appeal Board and member of the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council.
In the past, the farmer from Spencerville and former air force pilot called himself a ‘hitman’ and a ‘cleaner’ for staying just far enough removed from the government that Ontario agriculture officials didn’t have to get their hands dirty.
Geri Kamenz
Photo: OMAFRA
In one of his more controversial moves, Kamenz lobbied to strip the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers Association of its collective bargaining powers in an attempt to create a free market system, but Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal put a stop to it.
Minister Leal issued a statement thanking Kamenz for his contributions to Ontario’s agriculture sector.
"I would like to thank Geri Kamenz for his years of service as the Chairperson of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC),” Leal said in his statement. “The Commission serves an important role as the regulatory agency that administers legislation and supervises Ontario's farm marketing boards. It has been a pleasure working with Geri in this capacity. We appreciate Geri's leadership in providing direction and governance and thank him for his commitment in serving our agri-food sector and the people of Ontario over the past eight years. I wish Geri all the best in his future endeavors as he steps down at the end of the year and look forward to working with the OFPMC through this transition period."