Convicted :
1) Jose Medeiros (Caledon)
2) Ricardo Correia (Mississauga)
Location : 14799 Airport Road, Caledon, Ontario
Description of Offence: Mr. Medeiros and Mr. Correia carried on a licensed activity (slaughter) without a licence, and sold a carcass not stamped with an inspection legend.
Date of Offence : December 15, 2017
Dates of Conviction :
1) April 9, 2018
2) May 7, 2018
Penalty Imposed : Mr. Medeiros pleaded guilty to both counts and was fined $4,000 by Justice of the Peace L. Fayolle, at the City of Caledon Provincial Offences Court. The court also imposed a 25 per cent Victim Fine Surcharge of $1,000, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime. Mr. Correia pleaded guilty to one count of carrying on a licensed activity without a licence and received a suspended sentence by Justice of the Peace Jeannie Anand.
Background :
>In December 2017, an undercover officer posing as a customer ordered a goat carcass from Mr. Medeiros. The officer and Mr. Medeiros arranged to meet at Mr. Medeiros' farm business located at 14799 Airport Road in Caledon, Ontario.
>On December 15, 2017, the officer arrived at the farm and met with Mr. Correia, a friend of Mr. Medeiros. The officer saw two freshly killed goat carcasses in a barn. Mr. Medeiros was not at the farm, but he arranged a transaction over the phone that resulted in the officer purchasing one goat that day.
>At a later date, Mr. Correia admitted that he had killed both of the goats. An investigation revealed that Mr. Correia did not have a licence to slaughter the animals. An investigation also revealed that the purchased goat had not received ante mortem or post mortem inspection, and therefore no inspection legends had been applied to that goat carcass.
>Ontario is a leader in food safety and meat inspection. The province's meat regulation is part of Ontario's food safety system and contains high standards for the protection of consumers and welfare of animals.
>Under subsection 4(1) of the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001, no person shall carry on a licensed activity or operate premises where a licensed activity is carried on unless the person holds a licence for the activity issued under this Act.
>Penalties for an individual convicted of a provincial offence under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001, are set out by subsection 46(1) of the Act. An individual convicted of an offence under the Act is liable to a fine of not more than $25,000 for a first conviction, a fine of not more than $50,000 for each subsequent conviction (for each day or part of a day on which the offence occurs or continues to occur), imprisonment for not more than two years or both a fine and imprisonment.
Source : Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs