Ice cream shop wants Ontario's milk rules to change
CBC
The plight of an Ottawa ice cream shop that saw its fledgling wholesale operation abruptly shut down last week is reigniting debate around the province's dairy rules and whether they unfairly freeze out small businesses.
Owner Marlene Haley was working at Merry Dairy last week when an officer from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) came by and informed her she would have to stop selling wholesale immediately or face fines of $1,000 per day.
Within 24 hours, hundreds of pints distributed at locations across the city were collected and returned, leaving clients' shelves bare right before a long weekend.
"It just seems absurd," said Haley. "It's punishing the small producer in a way."
Ontario's Milk Act allows ice cream makers to sell their product directly to consumers, but bars them from selling wholesale to other businesses unless they have a dairy plant licence. It's part of a system called supply management that was set up to protect Canadian farmers, but some critics say it has stifled innovation and lined the pockets of a select few.
Dairy farmer Peter Ruiter bristles at that description.
"I get awfully upset," said the owner of Blackrapids Farm in Nepean, Ont.
"Lots of people get caught up in those regulations. People want safe food and those are the regulations we live by."
The Merry Dairy isn't the first local shop to run afoul of the rules.
Pascale's All Natural Ice Cream has been making small-batch ice cream in Ottawa for over a decade and found itself in a similarly sticky situation. It has since focused on vegan options.
When Merry Dairy took to Twitter with a thread explaining what had happened to its wholesale offerings, Pascale's tweeted in commiseration: "Same story, 3 years later!!! Things need to change."
In a statement to CBC, an OMAFRA spokesperson said the requirement to have a licence under the Milk Act is about ensuring businesses that distribute milk products meet the province's "high food safety standards."
The ministry is in contact with Merry Dairy and offered support in order for it to become a licensed dairy plant, which would allow the shop to resume wholesale business, the statement added.
Haley said she's looking into what it would take to become a licensed plant, but suspects the century-old building the shop calls home won't offer enough space to meet requirements.
