DUNDAS FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE (DFA)
  • Home
  • About DFA
    • Board Members
    • Constitution
    • Calendar of Events
    • Meeting Minutes
  • DFA News
  • Agricultural Hall of Fame
    • 2019 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductions
    • 2017 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductions
  • Pictures
    • DFA Pictures
    • Dundas Soil & Crop Pictures
  • Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
  • Partner Sites
  • Contact Us

DFA NEWS

News updates about DFA events and agriculture in Dundas County and Ontario.

What agriculture needs in Ontario’s 2017 budget

1/24/2017

0 Comments

 
By Steve Brackenridge, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
​

Each year, OFA advises the province how taxpayer dollars can be effectively used to grow farming and rural Ontario. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) recent provincial budget submission outlines priorities for the agri-food industry and our rural economy. The provincial budget is expected to be finalized in spring 2017, so getting agriculture’s recommendations in front of budget and policy decision makers is key.
Farm businesses form the backbone of our robust food system and rural communities and are poised to drive Ontario’s economy. OFA is asking the provincial government to prioritize investment in Ontario’s farm business and rural communities and have outlined four areas we want included in the 2017 provincial budget.
  1. Investing in rural infrastructure – Roads, bridges, drainage, and connectivity are vital to maintain and grow our food system. From the flow of inputs and information to farmers, to the delivery of products to processors and ultimately the consumer, effective and efficient transportation infrastructure is essential to Ontario’s entire value chain. Rural communities have a disproportionately large stock of infrastructure compared to their local tax base. That’s why OFA strongly recommends the Ontario government work with municipalities across rural Ontario to develop and adopt a cost-effective infrastructure replacement program including roads, bridges and drainage. The province must also ensure that rural Ontario has the broadband capacity to thrive in our global economy. The provincial government needs to invest in our rural municipalities.
  2. Expanding natural gas to rural Ontario – Extending affordable energy to rural Ontario will drive growth. OFA is asking the provincial government to commit to a 20-year program, investing $75 million annually to provide rural Ontario with access to natural gas through pipelines. Access to affordable energy will bring new money and jobs to rural Ontario. Our farms, businesses and neighbors will save over $1 billion per year in energy costs for heating and appliances with access to natural gas. It is simply the best and most effective investment the province can make in rural Ontario.
  3. Balancing electricity distribution costs – The high cost of electrical energy will not be solved overnight. However, we know that rural Ontario pays a very high price for distribution on their electricity bills. To provide some short-term relief OFA is calling on the Ontario government to equalize the distribution costs for electricity across the province. Rural customers bought and paid for the Hydro One distribution assets. These assets are now being sold to pay for urban transit projects. It is only fair that rural Ontario sees some benefit from its investment.
 
  1. Supporting farmers – The OFA fully supports the need of Ontario farmers for adequate and bankable risk management programming. So we again join with Ontario commodity organizations in calling for Ontario to maintain its commitment to the Risk Management Program (RMP) and the Self-Directed Risk Management Program (SDRM) used by the horticulture industry. In times of volatile global markets, the RMP and SDRM programs are more critical than ever.
 
OFA has provided sound fiscal advice to the province for many years. Our recommended investments will pay very strong dividends as the tax money will yield extraordinary economic returns on the investment. The investment in affordable natural gas for rural Ontario could provide more than a 300 percent return in the first six years in economic activity.
In our view, that is sound fiscal management.

For more information, contact:
Steve Brackenridge
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
705-872-7629
Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883
0 Comments

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About DFA
    • Board Members
    • Constitution
    • Calendar of Events
    • Meeting Minutes
  • DFA News
  • Agricultural Hall of Fame
    • 2019 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductions
    • 2017 Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductions
  • Pictures
    • DFA Pictures
    • Dundas Soil & Crop Pictures
  • Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
  • Partner Sites
  • Contact Us