Virtually all of the tobacco quota owners in the province of Ontario signed up for federal payments to "exit" tobacco.rnOf the roughly 1,000 remaining quota owners, all but 18 applied for transition funds, which were voluntary. Those 18 represent only 0.3% of the total base quota.rnIt had earlier been speculated that some growers might disdain the low $1.05 (CAN) per pound of quota offered by the federal government and choose instead to continue producing tobacco. But the provincial figures indicate that was not the case.rnFuture leaf production in Canada will be based on a system of provincial licensing, and no individual who accepted an exit plan payment will be granted a license. So this year's crop, if one is grown, will be grown by those few who held out from the exit plan, by new growers or by growers who never owned quota or didn't own any at the time of the buyout.
展开▼
