Is Race A Factor In Co-Op Board Ignoring Their Concerns – The Majority Of Indo-Canadian Members Feel “YES IT IS”!

Many fruit growers in the Okanagan, including a large number of Indo-Canadian farmers, are fighting the Board of their owned Co-Op after what they said the Board is making wrong decisions regarding selling off land owned by the Co-Op BC Tree Fruits, which is leading to their increased frustration over the decisions the board and management have taken and continue to take. The Farmers recently held a protest to draw attention to their cause as they feel that Management is shoving this decision down their throat even though majority of the members oppose the land sale decision. Even though 85% of the members are Indo-Canadian-South Asian, they don’t see that representation in the leadership of the administration and are beginning to feel the fact they are not being listened to is because of their race. Many growers are considering leaving the Co-Op for private packers. “Growers feel that their wishes are not being heard. The path that has been pursued by the board and management has been unnecessary and has resulted in the loss of valuable assets, increased debt, lower fruit quality and increased animosity between the board and management and its members,” they said.

By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada

KELOWNA – Many fruit growers in the Okanagan, including a large number of Indo-Canadian farmers, are fighting the Board of their owned Co-Op after what they said the Board is making wrong decisions regarding selling off land owned by the Co-Op, which is leading to their increased frustration over the decisions the board and management have taken and continue to take.

The Farmers recently held a protest to draw attention to their cause as they feel that Management is shoving this decision down their throat even though majority of the members oppose the land sale decision.

Even though 85% of the members are Indo-Canadian-South Asian, they don’t see that representation in the leadership of the administration and are beginning to feel the fact they are not being listened to is because of their race. Many growers are considering leaving the Co-Op for private packers.

“Growers feel that their wishes are not being heard. The path that has been pursued by the board and management has been unnecessary and has resulted in the loss of valuable assets, increased debt, lower fruit quality and increased animosity between the board and management and its members,” they said.

It all seems to originate from a decision taken to build a new packing house in Oliver. To finance this new building it was decided that Co-Op named BC Tree Fruits would sell its assets in the form of land and buildings that were built up over decades. This would lead to operations being closed in other parts of the Okanagan Valley and be centralised in Oliver.

The plan to build in Oliver and sell the Cooperative’s assets were opposed by the majority of the members but it was pushed through anyways, the Farmers said at a recent protest organized outside the offices of the Co-Op..

The Farmers say the Winfield packing house was serving the growers well. The Growers were told that the reason to sell was because of a water disposal issue. The fact is the issue could have been resolved for $5 million, much less than the cost of a new building, the Growers said.

The Growers were told that a new cherry line was needed, but all that was needed was a software upgrade. Much less than the cost of a new line.

One of the reasons the decision to build in Oliver was opposed by the Growers was that 85% of the fruit is now being grown is in the central Okanagan. 

“We are now shipping fruit 100-150 kilometers away in all sorts of weather conditions. This is contributing to worse pack-outs for the growers. On top of that there is increased cost and pollution,” the Growers told DESIBUZZCanada.

Another cost that has not been factored in is the building of a new CA storage facility in Oliver and the Growers say there needs to be transparency about how much that will cost.

“The growers need to know how much debt there will be remaining after all their assets have been sold off.The investment in the Oliver project is not reducing costs and debt. That investment needs to be justified and explained,” they said.

“Growers were promised 40 cents per pound in the plan, is this even realistic given the ongoing debt, and if so, when?”

The Growers said even though operations have moved to Oliver the administration is still in Kelowna. They want the administration based where the company carries out its business.