Dear Members,
Since the release of the Seeds Canada amalgamation proposal in mid-June and the beginning of CSGA’s voting period in mid-July, our team has pulled out all the stops. Our goal: to ensure that by August 27, 2020, you will have made an informed decision and voted in what you believe is in the best interest of Canadian agriculture.
Our Efforts to Date
We have held 11 CSGA Town Hall meetings and three coordinated webinars with our Seed Synergy partners. We opened our web-based “SeedTALK” platform to provide a safe space for member dialogue. We undertook telephone outreach, offered videos on our YouTube platform, and communicated to you via social media. We sent out over a dozen email notices covering a wide range of amalgamation related topics. We even made our membership list available to those who wished to engage directly with fellow members.
How and When to Vote
Advance voting is open until August 26 at 11 am EDT. Until then, you can cast your vote online or by telephone, following the instructions and using the unique control number mailed to you with the Amalgamation Ratification Package. Or you can participate in and vote at the virtual Special General Meeting on August 27 starting at 11 am EDT. If you did not receive or misplaced your voting package, including the unique control number assigned to you for voting purposes, please contact the CSGA office ASAP at seedtalk@seedgrowers.ca or by telephone at 613-236-0497 x 241.
What it Means
The CSGA Board of Directors recommends that you vote YES to this proposal. Some see amalgamation as the end of five organizations and the beginning of a new one, with an attendant sense of gain and/or loss. I prefer the image of five rivers flowing into one, stronger together. In the CSGA Board’s view, all the elements of value to seed growers in the CSGA model of today have been retained or improved upon in the Seeds Canada model of tomorrow.
It is now your turn to decide. The future of Seeds Canada is in your hands. I encourage you to stand up, be counted and vote.
On behalf of the CSGA Board of Directors,
Joe Rennick
President
