The Rural Voice, 2019-04, Page 64Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca
Agnes Denham, Secretary: 519-229-8866 or 1-866-829-8866
Robert Martin, President: robertmartin@xplornet.ca or 519-291-4853
Perth County Federation of Agriculture
60 The Rural Voice
* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Perth County by the PCFA.
By Keith Currie, President,
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
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”.◊
OFA advocates for red tape reduction
PCFA celebrates 75 years!
2019 is Perth County Federation of Agriculture’s 75th Anniversary.
Watch this page for some interesting “Did You Know” facts from the past 75 years.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 16, 2019 as we will be celebrating
this landmark occasion at this year’s Perth County Harvest Gala.
PCFA 75 years
1944-2019
Did you know?
True or False?
1. The first part-time OFA Fieldman
in Perth was also a Church
Minister? (TRUE, Rev. Bert
Daynard of Staffa).
2. PCFA Supported the importation
of Sugar Cane as it was a cheaper
product? (FALSE, PCFA supported
the Ontario Sugar Beet Industry
and encouraged the restriction of
the importation of refined cane
sugar).
3. PCFA was one of the few County
Federations who never formed a
“Women’s Committee” (FALSE, in
October, 1950 a Women’s
Committee was formed in Perth).
4. PCFA disapproved of the
implementation of Daylight Savings
Time? (TRUE).
5. In 1945, the PCFA AGM
Speaker stated that the Ontario
Farm Population was 30 per cent.
(TRUE, and since it was this low
the PCFA needed to educate the
non-farm population).
PCFA DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, April 18
Contact office for time and location
The Perth County Federation of
Agriculture held its Annual Meeting
in February at Jobsite Brewery in
Stratford. Everyone enjoyed pizza
and beverages before the meeting
and a tour of the brewery followed
the meeting.
Four directors were up for
election for a three-year term: Joanne
Foster, Joanne Innes, Eric McLagan
and Kirk Rankin were eligible for re-
election and were acclaimed as
PCFA Directors for 2019-2021.◊
PCFA holds Annual
Meeting