by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 03/97) - After over a decade of fight, the North has cracked its way into the National Egg Marketing System.

Tuesday, the GNWT signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government giving the North full membership and an egg quota.

But Gary Villitard, co-owner of Dene Eggs said there is more work to be done.

"The champagne is in the fridge but we haven't cracked it open yet," he said.

Villitard owns 49 per cent of Dene Eggs, formerly Pineview Poultry Ltd. The remaining 51 per cent is owned by the Hay River Dene Band.

Frank Richardson, owner of the North's other egg producer, Northern Poultry Ltd. in Hay River, could not be reached.

In the proposed deal, to be completed at the end of March, the North's production quota will be 115,000 egg-laying hens, or layers. But Northern producers have 220,000 layers.

"We have to cut production in half. Who gets how much," Villitard said.

Before the agreement is final, federal and territorial governments have to change legislation and the Canadian Egg Marketing Association has to change its rules, he added.

"It should never have taken 14 years to get this far."

Part of why it has taken so long is because there were no provisions for new members.

And the North can produce eggs cheaper than anywhere else in Canada, said Villitard.

It is cheaper to produce eggs in the North because of grain costs, he said.

Chickens need grain and grain costs money to ship. With the phasing out of the Crow rate feed subsidy, the farther grain has to be shipped to port in Vancouver or Thunder Bay, the more expensive it gets. That makes the price grain from northern Alberta attractive to the North and means it costs less to feed the chickens.

A dozen eggs costs about $1 to produce in the North compared to about $1.30 in Edmonton, Villitard, who owns Edmonton-based Villitard Eggs Ltd., a family business founded in 1902.

Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development minister Stephen Kakfwi said: "We are pleased that the negotiations with the egg marketing agencies have finally come to a successful conclusion."

Canada's production quota is 21 million egg-laying hens, or layers.

The proposed quota for the NWT is 115,000 layers which equals 2.7 million dozen eggs.