The Rural Voice, 2004-09, Page 64GREY
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
Email: greyofa.on.ca Website: www.ofa.on.ca/grey 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
• The Rural Voice is provided to OFA
Members in Grey County by the GCFA
Drainage and the Ontario government
The Municipal Outlet Drainage
program has been a valuable
infrastructure program for the
province's farmers for many years,
allowing them to have efficient outlets
for their on-farm tile drainage systems.
Working together, the municipal drains
and on-farm tile drains have allowed
Ontario farmers to become some of the
most efficient food producers in the
world.
On July 27, 2004, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food (OMAF)
announced that it was ending its
drainage grant programs effective
immediately. There were no
consultations with stakeholders prior to
this announcement.
Prior to July 27 OMAF provided
grants under the Drainage Act to offset
some of the cost of construction of new
municipal drains, some of the cost of
maintenance of existing drains and
some of the cost incurred by
municipalities required to employ a
Drainage Superintendent. The grant
rates were :
• 1/3 towards the cost of new drain
construction or the maintenance of
existing drains (for Northern Ontario,
the grant rate was 2/3; and up to 80 per
cent in unorganized municipalities),
and
• 50 per cent of the cost incurred by
a municipality in employing a drainage
superintendent.
These grant programs cost OMAF
approximately $5 to $7.5 million
annually, depending on drainage
activity. $1.6 million for drainage
superintendents (now capped at $1.5
million); $1.5 million for drain
maintenance; $4 million for new
drainage works under a new engineer's
report.
On the same day that OMAF staff
were announcing the end to drainage
grants, the Minister of Public
Infrastructure and Renewal was
announcing a 30 -year, $100 -Billion
strategy to rebuild Ontario's decaying
infrastructure. Apparently $900 Million
of this is to be earmarked for "rural
Ontario".
Municipal drains are a key
component of rural infrastructure that
provides benefit to more than just those
60 THE RURAL VOICE
property owners who drain into them.
During the Drainage Program Review
in 2000, Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food staff indicated in
their discussion paper that "The long
history of the Act has proven its
benefits as follows: iii) it contributes to
rural economic development by
encouraging land drainage through the
provision of grants to offset the costs of
maintenance and construction
(including engineering costs). Drains
have proven to be a key infrastructure
in the development of a competitive
and efficient agriculture sector in
Ontario. Outlet drain construction has
also helped trigger farmers'
investments, in the installation of
private sub -surface tile drainage
systems. These systems created over
$70 Million in business for the industry
in 1997."
This service to the province's
agricultural community is disappearing.
and this change comes without any
consultation or warning to farmers,
municipal councils and those in the
business of creating or improving
municipal drains. Like OFA. municipal
leaders across the province have come
to rely on the Municipal Outlet
Drainage program to meet an important
need of all Ontarians. Cost cutting
appears to have been the sole
motivation for Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food's move.
This decision by OMAF
demonstrates a lack of understanding of
the needs of Ontario farmers. It also
fails to recognize how such a relatively
small amount of money can be so
important to agriculture.
OFA has been in contact with
commodities, counties, members and
the media. Because of the critical
nature of the program, OFA is going to
government asking officials to reinstate
the program or to provide some form of
equivalent alternative.
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
Thursday, September 16 - 8:00 p.m.
Grey County Agricultural Services Centre
meeting room (Grey Gables)
208 Toronto Street South, Markdale
Members are welcome to attend
OFA encourages its members,
municipal leaders, and all rural citizens
to contact their local MPP to discuss
this critical issue and to protest the cuts
to the Municipal Outlet Drainage
Program.
• Bill Murdoch, Bruce -Grey -Owen
Sound MPP
1047 2nd Ave. East
Owen Sound. ON N4K 2H8
Phone: 371-2421 or 1-800-461-2664
Fax: 371-0953 Email:
bill_murdoch@ontla.ola.org
•Hon. Ernie Eves, Dufferin-Peel-
Wellington-Grey MPP
244 Broadway Ave.
Orangeville, Ontario L9W I K5
Phone: 519-941-7751
Fax: 519-941-3246 Email:
ernie_eves@ontla.ola.org
• Hon. Jim Wilson. Simcoe-Grey MPP
50 Hume Street.
Collingwood. ON L9Y 1 V2
Phone: 705-446-1090 or 1-800-268-
7542
Fax: 705-446-3397 Email:
jim_wilson@ontla.ola.org
• Carol Mitchell. Huron -Bruce MPP
(PLrliamentary Assistant to Steve
Peters, Minister of Agriculture and
Food)
322 Lambton Street.
Kincardine, ON N2Z 1Y9
Phone: 519-396-3007 or 1-866-396-
3007
Fax: 519-396-3011 Email:
cmitchell.mpp.co@Iiberal.ola.org
• Hon. Steve Peters, MPP, Minister
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food
77 Grenville Street, 1lth Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5S I B3
Phone: 416-326-3074
Fax: 416-326-3083
Email: speters.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
64th Annual Meeting and Banquet
and OFA Regional Meeting
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2004
Markdale Community Centre
Social: 6:30 p.m. Dinner 7:00 p.m.
Guest speaker: Gisele Ireland, Humorist and Author
Tickets: $15/person (available from Township
Presidents of our office)
Note: OFA Regional Directors, Delegates and
Altemates for OFA Convention, and GCFA
Presidents will be elected at the meeting.