SunOpta Inc.: Exhibit 10.53 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com






Exhibit 10.53 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT 

This Employment Agreement
(“Agreement”) is between SunOpta Inc. (such entity together with all past,
present, and future parents, divisions, operating companies, subsidiaries, and
affiliates are referred to collectively herein as “Company”) and George Miketa
(“Employee”). 

	1. 	
      EMPLOYMENT



This Agreement commences November 1,
2017 (“Effective Date”), and shall continue in effect until terminated by either
party upon two month’s written notice. Employment during the course of the
Agreement shall be on an “at-will” basis, meaning that either party has the
right to terminate the agreement for any reason, or for no reason, upon two
month’s written notice. The Company also has the right to terminate the
Agreement immediately for Cause (as defined in Section 6 below).

	2. 	
      TITLE AND EXCLUSIVE
SERVICES




	(a) 	
      Title and Duties. Employee’s title is Senior Vice
      President and Chief Customer Officer, and Employee will perform job duties
      that are usual and customary for this position.

	 	 
	(b) 	
      Exclusive Services. Employee shall not be employed
      or render services elsewhere during the employment period; provided,
      however, that Employee may participate in professional, civic or
      charitable organizations so long as such participation is unpaid and does
      not interfere with the performance of Employee’s
duties.




	3. 	
      COMPENSATION AND
BENEFITS




	(a) 	
      Base Salary. Employee shall be paid an annualized
      salary of Three Hundred Seventy Thousand Dollars ($370,000.00) (“Base
      Salary”). The Base Salary shall be payable in accordance with the
      Company’s regular payroll practices and pursuant to Company policy, which
      may be amended from time to time. Employee’s performance and salary will
      be reviewed by the Company in July 2018 and then annually thereafter
      during the Company’s customary merit process.

	 	 
	(b) 	
      Signing Bonus. The Company shall pay the Employee
      a lump sum cash signing bonus of $100,000 gross to be paid in the first
      pay period upon employment. If within 24 months of the Effective Date (i)
      Employee voluntarily terminates his employment with the Company or (ii)
      the Company terminates Employee for Cause, Employee will reimburse the
      Company for the signing bonus in its entirety.

	 	 
	(c) 	
      Short Term Incentive. Eligibility for the annual
      Short-Term Incentive is based upon a fifty percent (50%) target of
      Employee’s Base Salary as of April 1 of each year and is pursuant to the
      terms of the Short-Term Incentive Plan Document which operates at the
      discretion of Company and its Board of Directors, and is not a guarantee
      of compensation. For the 2017 Short Term Incentive Plan year, Employee
      will be eligible for a prorated award calculated from the Effective
      Date.

	 	 
	(d) 	
      Long Term Incentive. Employee is eligible for
      participation in the Long-Term Incentive Plan at a target of fifty percent
      (50%) of Employee’s Base Salary pursuant to the terms of the Long-Term
      Incentive Plan Document which operates at the discretion of Company and
      its Board of Directors, and is not a guarantee of
  compensation.



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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____







	(e) 	
      Equity Award. Employee will be awarded a one-time
      equity award of 17,500 Restricted Share Units in accordance with the
      Amended 2013 Stock Incentive Plan. The Restricted Share Units vest ratably
      over a three-year period from the award date. The award will be made
      within the first 30 days of employment.

	 	 
	(f) 	
      Employment Benefit Plans. Employee may participate
      in all employee welfare benefit plans in which other similarly situated
      employees may participate, according to the terms of applicable policies
      and as stated in the Employee Benefits Guide. These benefits include but
      are not limited to medical, dental, vision, short term disability, long
      term disability, life insurance, 401(k) and the Employee Stock Purchase
      Plan.

	 	 
	(g) 	
      Vacation. Employee is eligible for Paid Time Off
      of four weeks (160 hours) per calendar year, prorated as necessary, and
      subject to Company policy.

	 	 
	(h) 	
      Expenses. Company will reimburse Employee for
      business expenses consistent with past practices, and pursuant to Company
      policy. Any reimbursement that would constitute nonqualified deferred
      compensation shall be paid pursuant to Section 409A.

	 	 
	(i) 	
      Taxes and Deductions. Compensation pursuant to
      this section shall in all cases be less applicable payroll taxes and other
      deductions.




	4. 	
      NONDISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL
  INFORMATION



Company has provided and will continue to provide to Employee
confidential information and trade secrets including but not limited to
Company’s marketing plans, growth strategies, target lists, performance goals,
operational and programming strategies, specialized training expertise, employee
development, engineering information, sales information, client and customer
lists, business and employment contracts, representation agreements, pricing and
ratings information, production and cost data, compensation and fee information,
strategic business plans, budgets, financial statements, technological
initiatives, proprietary research or software purchased or developed by Company,
content distribution, and other information Company treats as confidential or
proprietary (collectively the “Confidential Information”). Employee acknowledges
that such Confidential Information is proprietary and agrees not to disclose it
to anyone outside Company except to the extent that: (i) it is necessary in
connection with performing Employee’s duties; or (ii) Employee is required by
court order to disclose the Confidential Information, provided that Employee
shall promptly inform Company, shall cooperate with Company to obtain a
protective order or otherwise restrict disclosure, and shall only disclose
Confidential Information to the minimum extent necessary to comply with the
court order. Employee agrees to never use trade secrets in competing, directly
or indirectly, with Company. When employment ends, Employee will immediately
return all Confidential Information to Company. Confidential Information shall
not include information that is generally available to and known by the public
at the time of disclosure to the Employee; provided that, such disclosure is
through no direct or indirect fault of the Employee or any person acting on the
Employee’s behalf. 

The terms of this Section 4 shall survive the expiration or
termination of this Agreement for any reason. 

	5. 	
      NON-COMPETITION AND
  NON-SOLICITATION




	(a) 	
      Employee will not at any time within the period of twelve
      (12) months following the earlier of the expiration of this Agreement or
      any termination of employment hereunder (i) either individually or in
      partnership, jointly or in conjunction with any person or persons as an
      employee, principal, agent, consultant, shareholder (except as a
      shareholder holding not more than five (5) percent of the outstanding
      shares from time to time from any class of shares of
a publicly traded corporation) or in any other manner whatsoever
carry on or be engaged in or concerned with or interested in, or advise, lend
money to, guarantee the debts of or obligations of, or permit his name or any
part thereof to be used or employed by or associated with, any person or persons
engaged in or concerned with or interested in, any business with the same or
substantially similar products or services to or competitive with the business
of the Company, carried on during the course of your employment hereunder in the
United States or Canada at the time of the termination of your employment
hereunder; (ii) either directly or indirectly, by any means or in any capacity,
approach, solicit or contact in the course of being engaged in a business
competitive with the Company’s products or services any person solicited,
serviced or contacted by you on behalf of the Company during your employment;
and (iii) either directly or indirectly, by any means or in any capacity,
interfere with the employment arrangements between the Company or any of its
employees and will not in any way solicit, recruit, assist others in recruiting
or hiring, or discuss employment or similar arrangements with any employees of
the Company. 



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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____







	(b) 	
      If any covenant or provision herein is determined to be
      void or unenforceable in whole or in part, it shall not be deemed to
      affect or impair the validity of any other covenant or provision and each
      covenant or provision is declared to be separate and distinct covenants.
      Employee hereby agrees all restrictions contained in this section are
      reasonable and valid and all defenses to the strict enforcement thereof by
      the Company are hereby waived. Employee further agrees that the covenants
      in this section shall not terminate upon the termination of employment
      hereunder and acknowledge that a violation of any of the provisions of
      this section will result in immediate and irreparable damage to the
      Company and agree that in the event of such violation, the Company, in
      addition to any other right of relief, shall be entitled to seek equitable
      relief by way of a temporary or permanent injunction and to such other
      relief that any court of competent jurisdiction may deem just and proper.
      If Employee is in breach of any such restrictions, the running of the
      period of such restrictions shall be stayed and shall recommence upon the
      date Employee ceases to be in breach thereof, whether voluntarily or by
      injunction.

	 	 
	(c) 	
      The terms of this Section 5 shall survive the expiration
      or termination of this Agreement for any
reason.




	6. 	
      TERMINATION.



 In the event Employee is
involuntarily terminated without Cause (as defined hereafter), the Company
Severance Pay Plan will apply; provided however, the minimum amount of severance
paid will be 12 months. “Cause” shall mean (i) the commission of an act that
constitutes a felony under the laws of the United States or any individual State
or under the laws of a foreign country, (ii) the commission of an act of fraud,
embezzlement, sexual harassment, dishonesty, theft, or an intentional act that
results in a material loss, damage or injury to the Company; (iii) the
commission of an act of moral turpitude which is materially injurious to the
Company; or (iv) the failure of Employee to participate in the reasonable and
lawful business activities of the Company in a manner consistent with his job
duties, provided such failure continues for more than ten days after written
notice to the Employee specifying such failure in reasonable detail. 

	7. 	
      CONFLICTS OF INTEREST



 Employee acknowledges familiarity
with Company policies on conflicts of interest, and warrants that Employee will
fully comply with such policies. Employee shall certify compliance with the
conflicts of interest policy from time to time as requested by the Company.
Employee shall notify Company immediately in writing if there is any attempt to induce
Employee to violate the conflicts of interest policy. 

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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____







	8. 	
      INDEMNIFICATION



Company shall defend and indemnify
Employee for acts committed in the course and scope of employment. Employee
shall indemnify Company for claims of any type concerning Employee’s conduct
outside the scope of employment, or the breach by Employee of this Agreement.


	9. 	
      DISPUTE RESOLUTION




	(a) 	
      Arbitration. This Agreement is governed by the
      Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. and evidences a
      transaction involving commerce. This Agreement applies to any dispute
      arising out of or related to Employee's employment with Company or
      termination of employment. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be
      construed to prevent or excuse Employee from using the Company’s existing
      internal procedures for resolution of complaints, and this Agreement is
      not intended to be a substitute for the use of such procedures. Except as
      it otherwise provides, this Agreement is intended to apply to the
      resolution of disputes that otherwise would be resolved in a court of law,
      and therefore this Agreement requires all such disputes to be resolved
      only by an arbitrator through a final and binding individual arbitration
      proceeding and not by way of court or jury trial or class action. Such
      disputes include without limitation disputes arising out of or relating to
      interpretation or application of this Agreement, including the
      enforceability, revocability or validity of this Agreement or any portion
      of this Agreement. This Agreement also applies, without limitation, to
      disputes regarding the employment relationship, trade secrets, unfair
      competition, compensation, breaks and rest periods, termination, or
      harassment and claims arising under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Civil
      Rights Act of 1964, Americans With Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in
      Employment Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act,
      Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and state statutes, if any,
      addressing the same or similar subject matters, and all other state
      statutory and common law claims (excluding workers compensation, state
      disability insurance and unemployment insurance claims). Claims may be
      brought before an administrative agency but only to the extent applicable
      law permits access to such an agency notwithstanding the existence of an
      agreement to arbitrate. Such administrative claims include without
      limitation claims or charges brought before the Equal Employment
      Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov), the U.S. Department of Labor
      (www.dol.gov), the National Labor Relations Board
      (www.nlrb.gov), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
      (www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp). Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed
      to preclude or excuse a party from bringing an administrative claim before
      any agency in order to fulfill the party's obligation to exhaust
      administrative remedies before making a claim in arbitration. Disputes
      that may not be subject to pre-dispute arbitration agreement as provided
      by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public
      Law 111-203) are excluded from the coverage of this Agreement.

	 	 
	(b) 	
      Injunctive Relief. A party may apply to a court of
      competent jurisdiction for temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in
      connection with an arbitrable controversy, but only upon the ground that
      the award to which that party may be entitled may be rendered ineffectual
      without such provisional relief.

	 	 
	(c) 	
      This Section 9 is the full and complete agreement
      relating to the formal resolution of employment-related disputes. In the
      event any portion of this Section 9 is deemed unenforceable, the remainder
      of this Agreement will be enforceable.



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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____







	(d) 	
      This Section 9 shall survive the expiration or
      termination of this Agreement for any reason.




	 	Employee Initials: __________	Company Initials:
__________



	10. 	
      MISCELLANEOUS



This Agreement contains the entire
agreement of the parties and supersedes any prior written or oral agreements or
understandings between the parties. No modification shall be valid unless in
writing and signed by the parties, relating to the subject matter of this
Agreement, unless otherwise noted herein.

If any provision of this Agreement
shall, for any reason, be held unenforceable, such unenforceability shall not
affect the remaining provisions hereof, except as specifically noted in this
Agreement, or the application of such provisions to other persons or
circumstances, all of which shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted
by law.

Company and Employee agree that the
restrictions contained in Section 4 and 5 are material terms of this Agreement,
reasonable in scope and duration and are necessary to protect Company’s
Confidential Information, goodwill, specialized training expertise, and
legitimate business interests. If any restrictive covenant is held to be
unenforceable because of the scope, duration or geographic area, the parties
agree that the court or arbitrator may reduce the scope, duration, or geographic
area, and in its reduced form, such provision shall be enforceable. Should
Employee violate the provisions of Sections 4 or 5, then in addition to all
other remedies available to Company, the duration of these covenants shall be
extended for the period of time when Employee began such violation until
Employee permanently ceases such violation. Employee agrees that no bond will be
required if an injunction is sought to enforce any of the covenants previously
set forth herein.

The headings in this Agreement are
inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not control the meaning of
any provision hereof.

This Agreement shall be governed in
all respects by the internal laws of the State of Minnesota without regard to
conflict of law provisions. Each of the Employee and the Company hereby consents
to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Hennepin
County, Minnesota for any action or proceeding arising from or relating to this
Agreement or relating to any arbitration in which the parties are participants.
Any arbitration proceeding arising from or relating to this Agreement shall take
place in Hennepin County, Minnesota. 

(SIGNATURE PAGE TO FOLLOW) 

Upon full execution by all parties,
this Agreement shall be effective on the Effective Date in Section 1. 

EMPLOYEE: 

	/s/ George Miketa 	Date: October 16, 2017 
	
      George Miketa  
	 


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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____






COMPANY: 

	/s/ Jeff Gough 	Date: October 16, 2017 
	Jeff Gough 	  
	Chief Human Resources Officer 	  


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	 	Initials: 
	 	Company: _____
	 	Employee: _____