The Rural Voice, 2019-07, Page 8National Farmers Union – Ontario NEWSLETTER
Strong Communities.
Sound Policies.
Sustainable Farms.
Phone: 1-888-832-9638
E-mail: office@nfuontario.ca
Website: www.nfuontario.ca
NFU-O news
There are many issues and
meetings that are responded to and
attended in a month! Some
highlighted issues include:
Natural Heritage Designation
Every county is in the process of
certifying their official plans, and
areas of natural or scientific interest
(ANSI) have to be designated in
official plans. Some counties are
designating peripheral areas of up to
30 metres. The NFU-O supports the
intentions of the Natural Heritage
Designation (NHD) to protect
wetlands and areas of natural and
scientific interest from being altered
or destroyed in principle. When
implementing a NHD, the County
needs to meet the criteria of the
Provincial Policy Statement (PPS),
which leaves some room for
interpretation. We encourage you to
get involved in the discussion if your
County is making choices that
concern you or affect your farm.
Ontario Food Terminal
The provincial government is
reviewing the efficiency of the
Ontario Food Terminal (OFT). NFU-
O President, Don Ciparis, has been in
contact with several people around
the issue. As it stands, there is an
Advisory Group, which includes no
farmer representation, looking at the
feasibility of the current location as
well as alternatives if the OFT should
move. The OFT currently sits on 80
acres of “valuable real estate”. The
provincial government has stated that
it want sto keep it open but ensuring
that it is modern and meeting the
needs of the businesses that use it.
We are advocating for the Ontario
farmers who depend on the OFT for
their business alongside the Ontario
Fruit and Vegetable Growers and
Toronto Wholesale Produce
Association.
Animal Welfare Enforcement
As of June 28, 2019, the OSPCA
will be stopping all animal welfare
enforcement after the Supreme Court
ruled that it was unconstitutional to
have a charity which receives
donations respond to animal welfare
issues. In the interim, the government
has passed an act that allows the
province to appoint a Chief Inspector,
who can appoint qualified local
inspectors at humane societies.
The NFU-O sent a brief in
response to the province’s
consultation, which can be found on
our website. We also welcome any
feedback you have around solutions
to the issue of animal welfare
enforcement to the NFU-O office.
Harassment of Livestock Farmers
Farmers are continuing to
be harassed by animal welfare
advocates who either trespass onto
their farm or meet them at the sale
barn, banging on trailers and
verbally abusing farmers who are
trying to sell their animals.
The NFU-O website has
information regarding your rights as
well as how to react to trespasser(s).
We have written a letter to the
provincial legislature requesting that
trespassers at the farm or the sale
barn be prosecuted.
Climate Action Fund
The NFU-O has received up to
$83,606 in funding through the
Climate Action Fund to work with
farmers to implement farming
practices that will help mitigate
climate change. For details and how
to participate, please visit
nfuontario.ca/climate.
Get Involved!
The NFU-O Board is looking for
members who have ideas to share and
want to discuss issues in more depth.
These campaigns and committees are
open to farming and non-farming
members. Currently, we are looking
for members who would like to
participate in the following
campaigns/committees:
• Support for Direct Marketers
• Climate change
• Farmland Access & Preservation
• Editorial Committee
• AGM Committee
For further information or to
participate, please contact the office.
Local 330 Renfrew– Next meeting
is Wednesday, July 3, 7:30 p.m. via
conference call. Contact Connie
Tabbert at rcnfu330@gmail.com or
613-646-7753.
Coming Events
A subscription to The Rural Voice is one of the benefits of being an NFU-O member
4 The Rural Voice
Participants in the Ottawa Climate Change KTM