A provincial agriculture-focused omnibus bill to modernize Ontario’s legislation that manages farm groups and commodities will be introduced this spring.
“We’re optimistic; we’re hopeful that by the end of April we will be before the house and I’ll be standing in my place debating this bill,” Trevor Jones, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and agri-business said.
Jones announced the agriculture-specific legislation during the Beef Farmers of Ontario annual general meeting gala in Toronto on Feb. 18, providing more detail on the bill’s goals.
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WHY IT MATTERS: There are areas where longtime farm legislation has gaps, such as some beef producers who don’t have to pay a check-off.
According to the minister, the legislation will include a “bundle of packages to modernize a whole bunch of different areas,” including the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, to align it with other jurisdictions.
“We will be introducing legislation to amend the Beef Cattle Marketing Act to modernize the check-off process,” Jones shared. “This is one tool in our arsenal that we can use to remain competitive and to keep family farms viable and successful.”
To ensure the bill is comprehensive, he told Farmtario the as-yet-unnamed legislation will impact supply-managed and non-supply-managed commodities and will be shaped by several roundtables and one-on-one consultations, the first of which is Feb. 23, in Guelph.
It will involve 20 to 25 primary producers, commodity groups, trade associations and academic representatives.
“We’ve got to refine it … (and) make sure we have enough room, enough debate time, the hours in the legislature to go through the proper motions,” Jones explained. “Those details are coming. But we want to be informed. We want to do it right.”
Modernizing check-off
The BFO has long lobbied to update the Beef Cattle Marketing Act, so any animal processed at a provincial abattoir has check-off applied, said outgoing president Craig McLaughlin.
Producers with cattle processed for freezer beef or on-farm sales do not pay check-off, unlike those in the sheep or swine sectors.
“This is about fairness in the system,” McLaughlin said. “If you do all your marketing through a livestock ring or sell to someone like Cargill, you pay full check-off. Some people, in my opinion, are not paying their fair share; this will bring fairness to the industry.”
Jones said the bill has support, noting Ontario Premier Doug Ford sees food security as vital to national security.
“Protecting our producers, giving them the potential to bring efficiencies over, make their operations more competitive globally and trade with partners around the world is a provincial priority,” Jones said.
The government knows some livestock supply chains cross borders, but it aims to reduce unnecessary movement by increasing processing capacity.
The objective is to boost Ontario’s trade competitiveness at home and globally.
“If we can re-shore some of that investment, process closer to farm, closer to producers and closer to market, it’s better,” he said. “There are pilots now underway for provincial abattoirs to get to that federal standard. The federal standard is the gold standard for international trade.”
Jones concluded by noting that collaboration is critical to ensure “we can modernize our systems alongside our members. Our work together reflects a shared understanding of what this sector needs to do to stay resilient.”
