BC greenhouse growers join forces

BC greenhouse vegetable growers joined forces with their counterparts across Canada last month to form the Greenhouse Produce Alliance of Canada (GPAC).

Created to be the national voice of Canada’s greenhouse fruit and vegetable growers, the group met for the first time during the Fruit & Vegetable Growers Canada (FVGC) annual general meeting in Ottawa, March 9-12.

Provincial sector representatives formerly met as a working group of FVGC, but the new not-for-profit organization gives them a formal voice. Details, including funding arrangements, are being worked out, with a formal agreement expected this month.

George Gilvesy, former chair of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, heads the new organization, with Abbotsford grower and BC Greenhouse Growers Association (BCGGA) chair Armand Vander Meulen serving as vice-chair. The board also includes representation from Alberta and Quebec.

Vander Meulen has frequently spoken of the need for a closer working relationship between the sectors in Ontario and BC. The greenhouse sector faces unique challenges from imports while operating without the protections afforded to supply-managed sectors.

While greenhouse produce is regulated by the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission (BC Veg), many BC growers have felt its defence of orderly marketing falls short. BCGGA has been exploring the potential for a separate marketing commission focused on greenhouse crops.

“In a market without import controls or supply management tools, ‘market stability’ overstates what regulation can realistically provide,” Vander Meulen says of BCGGA’s goals. “We are actively exploring opportunities, both within the current framework and through potential improvements, to ensure the system keeps pace with a rapidly changing industry. Our focus is on practical solutions, transparent governance, and regulatory approaches that reduce unnecessary burden.”

Greenhouse growers remain “constructive and collaborative partners” with BC Veg while continuing to work at both the provincial and national levels “to ensure growers receive the full value of a regulated system.”

 

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