By Keith Currie, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
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The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is a strong advocate for eliminating unnecessary red tape and regulatory burden for Ontario’s agricultural community. As the provincial government looks to reduce red tape under its open-for-business bylaws, including the proposed Bill 66 Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, OFA will always advocate to ensure the concerns of Ontario agriculture are heard and considered.
Bill 66 is a far-reaching piece of legislation that includes proposed changes to several existing laws across several provincial ministries that impact the agri-food sector. It proposes amendments to the Planning Act, Agricultural Employees Protection Act, Toxics Reduction Act, and the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act.
OFA is encouraged by the government’s decision to remove Schedule 10 – a proposed amendment to the provincial Planning Act that would have given municipalities the ability to pass bylaw changes that could use primary farmland for any type of development.
As every farmer knows, farmland is a finite resource. We can’t make more and must do everything we can to protect it for food production. There are tremendous opportunities for prosperity across Ontario that don’t need to be at the expense of the province’s farmland resource.
OFA has outlined our official position on all proposed changes to legislation under Bill 66 that would impact Ontario farmers, and have sent a formal submission to Todd Smith, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.
We support changes to the Agricultural Employees Protection Act, 2002 that would extend the act to workers in the ornamental horticulture sector.
We support the proposed changes to the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009 that would make it easier to report violations on toxic substances. OFA also supports the intent to make it easier for people to report violations. We do encourage the government to ensure that compliance systems under this act be conducted with scientifically sound investigations to avoid false reporting.
OFA generally supports proposed amendments to the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993. But we caution the government that eliminating Section 2(2) could increase red tape and burden on farm businesses – running counter to the intent of Bill 66. These changes could also result in multiple registrations filed for the same farm business – a wasteful and unnecessary consequence of the proposed amendments.
We will be following this extensive piece of legislation and continuing to advocate for decisions that benefit and don’t hinder the ability of Ontario farmers to operate sustainable and productive operations.
To read OFA’s full submission to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, please visit ofa.on.ca/resources and click on “Submissions and Correspondence”.
 
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For more information, contact:

Keith Currie
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
705-441-3362

​OFA Commentary: February 15, 2019
By Jacqueline Kelly-Pemberton, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

When the provincial government proposes new legislation or changes to existing regulations that could impact Ontario agriculture, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) evaluates the fine print and prepares an official response to government. These responses form the basis of our position on the issues raised.
OFA’s team of eight farm policy researchers are constantly reviewing government activities to assess the impact that regulatory changes may have on the agri-food sector and rural communities. It has been a busy year so far with official OFA submissions to various provincial government ministries to ensure that the voice of agriculture is heard and considered in any regulatory and legislative changes.
We have submitted written responses to government on issues ranging from increasing housing opportunities in Ontario, to clean fuel standards, to the government’s proposed made-in-Ontario environment plan and Bill 66.
OFA submissions reiterate the tremendous value that Ontario’s agri-food sector and rural communities contribute to the provincial economy. And to remain competitive and poised for growth we urge the government to prioritize and protect farmland from development. OFA strongly and successfully opposed the government’s open-for-business planning tool that would undercut decades of land use planning. We also disagree with the government’s position that a lack of land is behind the urban housing problem. Removing farmland for development is short sighted.
The government’s environment plan must recognize the ecological goods and services that farmland provides – for the benefit of all Ontarians.  
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitive Act, 2018 aims to reduce red tape and regulatory burden across several existing acts. OFA is a strong advocate for reducing unnecessary red tape. We continue to urge the government to consider the implications that any and all regulatory changes will have on the agri-food sector and rural communities.
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For more information, contact:

Jacqueline Kelly-Pemberton
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
613-774-5914

Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883

OFA Commentary: February 7, 2019
By Mark Kunkel, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Updates to the Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program were announced on February 1 that should see improvements in the claims, appeal and compensation process for Ontario livestock farmers. The changes will be implemented by the federal and provincial governments, and are a result of consultations with farmers and agricultural industry leaders, including the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).
Wildlife predation is a serious threat to livestock. Coyotes, bears, wolves and foxes are among the most common predators in Ontario that kill or maim livestock, leading to financial, animal health and disease problems. The challenges farmers face with predators and protecting livestock were compounded by their increasing frustration with the Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program.
OFA and farmers across the province participated in the consultation process to amend the program. OFA is pleased the federal and provincial governments heard our concerns about challenges with the program. The consultation process has seen some improvements that will reduce unnecessary red tape in the program.
To help farmers access compensation for livestock lost to predators, the Ontario Wildlife Compensation Program now includes:

• more ways to provide evidence that is sufficient to prove wildlife predation
• a more independent and transparent appeal process
• better training for municipal investigators to assess predation
• compensation that better reflects market prices

Program changes are effective February 1, 2019 and reflect some of the asks OFA, along with our farm business members have asked for. OFA encourages all Ontario livestock farmers to review the new program and changes. We also ask for feedback, directly to OFA and to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. OFA believes there is still room for improvement, and we will continue working with government to ensure the compensation program works as efficiently and effectively as it should.
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For more information, contact:

Mark Kunkel
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
705-492-4752

Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883