1. Annual General Meeting

The Conseil des appellations agroalimentaires du Québec (CARTV) will hold its annual general meeting on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 1:30 PM. This meeting will be held for all members in good standing of the Accreditation Board for the organic production mode.

Should you wish to attend the general meeting, please come to the following address :

Hotel Sandman (Metro Longueuil)
Salle Champlain
999, rue de Sérigny Longueuil (Québec) J4K 2T1
Tel. : 450.670.3030
Telec. : 450.670.5928

The organization's Board of Directors will present a review of activities for the year 2006, and will deal with the organization's future, based on the new Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims.

Should you wish to obtain a copy of the corporate internal regulations before attending the upcoming general meeting, please contact the CARTV :

by phone: (514) 864-8999
by fax: (514) 873-2580
by email : info@caaq.org


Agenda of the 2007 Annual General Meeting

1. Opening of the Annual General Meeting
2. Verification of quorum
3. Nomination of Meeting Secretary
4. Reading and Adoption of the Agenda
5. Adoption of Minutes for the General Meeting held in 2006
6. Report from the President of the Board of Directors (reading and adoption)
7. Presentation of the Activity Report for 2006
8. Question Period
9. Adoption of the Activity Report for 2006
10. Presentation and Approval of the 2006 Financial Statements
11. Appointment of an auditor for 2007
12. Action Plan for Transition from CARTV to CARTV
13. Modifications to the Body's Internal Regulations
14. Elections for Accreditation Board positions (organic production mode)
    
    • Producer representative
    • Merchant representative
    • Consumer representative
15. Miscellaneous
16. Closing of Annual General Meeting

2. Modifications to the Body's Internal Regulations

During the 2007 General Meeting, members present will be called upon to vote an amendment to Article 4.3.1 of organization's general regulations. The Board of Directors has in fact adopted the following wording for Article 4.3.1.5 in order that it be ratified by the General Meeting :

4.3.1 Nominations

4.3.1.1 The secretary shall publish a call for nominations at least 60 days before the corporation's annual meeting.

4.3.1.2 Candidates must transmit their nomination ballots to the secretary at least 21 days before the election.

4.3.1.3 In order to be valid, nomination ballots must be endorsed by at least three members of the sector being represented.

4.3.1.4 Once the ballots have been verified, the Board will ensure that candidates meet the competency criteria.

4.3.1.5 Due to exceptional circumstances, the Board of Directors may suspend the application of Articles 4.3.1.1 to 4.3.1.4 and decree that nominations be made from the floor at the General Meeting by electoral college members, according to the procedure approved by the members present from each electoral college concerned.

3. Elections to the CARTV Board

Please note that the positions for producer, merchant and consumer group representatives will be up for re-election in 2007. Given that the CARTV's willbe dissolved un a near future as a legal entity, the Board of Directors has decided to simplify the nomination process in 2007. Rather than having candidate ballots submitted in advance, it has decided that nominations would take place during the general meeting. Below is the text of the resolution adopted to this effect by the Board :

Whereas the Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims was adopted in 2006 by the Government of Québec and whereas it will quite probably come into effect in the following months,

Whereas this Act when in effect will lead to the dissolution of the CARTV and its Board of Directors,

Whereas the organization's internal regulations foreseen that in 2007 the terms for the producer, consumer and merchant representatives are to end and that elections for these positions must take place,

Whereas the complexity of the normal candidate nomination process is considered disproportionate relative to the time left for the organization's existence,

It was unanimously resolved that in 2007 Article 4.3.1.5 of the General Regulations would be applied and decreed that nominations for the positions of producer, consumer and merchant representative would be made from the floor of the general meeting, among the members of the respective electoral colleges, according to the procedure approved by the members present in each electoral college concerned.

4. Public Consultation in Progress

From February 9 to April 9, 2007, the CARTV holds a public consultation on new measures intended provide better control over companies involved wild crop harvesting, thus guaranteeing the organic integrity of their products. The Standards Committee has reviewed and made additions to the production plans and requirements that apply to this type of activity. In order to learn more about this consultation public , please refer to the following document :

http://www.caaq.org//EN/consultations/draft-amendments-requirements-wild-crop-harvests-070124.pdf

5. Changes in the Quebec Organic Reference Standard for 2007

The CARTV’s Board of Directors voted on several changes to be made to the Organic Reference Standards used in the certification of products in Québec. They are listed below in the order they appear in the Standards:

• Article 1.3.3 on Slaughtering services for organic animals,
• Section 2 on Prohibitions Regarding Transgenesis and Products Originating from Genetic Engineering (GMOs)
• Section 5.5 on Manure Processing
• Article 6.4.2 on Origin or Source of Livestock
• Section 6.8 on Pork Production
• Article 6.10.5 on Animal Slaughtering
• Article 6.13.2 on Winter Bee Feeding
• Article 7.4.9 on Maple Syrup Stock Inventory Status
• Article 8.3.4 on Use of Sulfites ou de Nitrites
• Article 9.6.2 on the use of the term organic or certified organic in advertising or display material

6. Recognition of New External Certifying Bodies

These four organizations have requested and have been granted recognition as Authorized Certification Bodies.

• Ecocert Italia SRL de Catane (Italy) was recognized on October 12, 2006, for products originating from territories other than Québec
• Ecocert SAS de L'Isle Jourdain (France) was recognized on October 12, 2006, for products originating from territories other than Québec
• Vermont Organic Farmers, LLC de Richmond, Vermont (USA) was recognized on October 12, 2006 for products originating from the USA only.
• CERES – Certification of Environmental Standards GmbHde in Happurg (Germany) was recognized on December 20, 2006 for products originating from territories other than Québec

7. Statistics on Organic Agri-Food Industry in Quebec on February 21, 2007

Note: The statistics appearing below are an instant picture of our database on February 21, 2007. The number of operators may vary daily according to the data capture of our certifying bodies. A more complete analysis of the Quebec Organic Sector for 2006 will be presented with the CARTV annual report 2006 due to be published on March 29, 2007.

Regional Distribution of operators in certification and licensed operators

Types of operations carried out on licensed operators' sites

CARTV's Board of Directors

CARTV's Employees