10-02-2008
PRIVATE MEMBERS'
PUBLIC BUSINESS
SIGNAGE TO PROMOTE ONTARIO GROWN AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTS ACT, 2008

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: This bill is about supporting our hard-working farmers, helping Ontarians find local food and strengthening our rural economy. Everyone knows that the best food in the world is grown by farmers right here in Ontario, and it's even better when you can get it straight from the farm. Every summer people across Ontario look forward to buying freshly grown products from farmers at produce stands and local farms. Consumers watch for the signs advertising fresh strawberries, corn, apples, tomatoes and other products, then follow these signs to the farm.

For farmers, on-farm sales are an important source of additional income, and they depend on signage to alert consumers to when produce is being harvested and generate a significant amount of those sales. Many farms are located on country side roads with very little traffic, so farmers need the ability to place these signs on well-travelled highways where they can reach more people. However, current legislation prohibits signs within 400 metres of a highway unless they display the name of the premises, the name of the owner of the premises, or that a ministerial permit has been granted. If a farmer applied for a ministerial permit when the strawberries were ready, the harvest would be over before he got his sign up.

This bill creates an exemption that would allow farmers to post seasonal, directional signs on land adjacent to highways. The sign must be on privately owned, agriculturally zoned land and can only advertise food that was grown by the owner of the sign. It is a simple change, but one that is needed to support our farmers and allow them to maintain and increase farm sales.

I am very pleased at the support that this bill has received from farmers, agriculture organizations and hopefully, this afternoon, from this Legislature.

Brenda Lammens, chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association, is here today in the gallery and I want to thank her for her support. She said, "The ability to erect a directional sign on privately owned agricultural zoned land makes sense for farmers and consumers. The intent is simple: to link consumers with fresh, locally produced food that might otherwise be hard to find on our country side roads."

One of the challenges for farmers is that the prohibition on signs has been enforced inconsistently across the province. The Renfrew County National Farmers Union said, "In Renfrew county local farmers experienced problems trying to advertise their product at the gate."

In Norfolk, several farmers were forced to take down their signs. One of these was Charles Emre, an asparagus farmer, who estimated that when he removed his sign, his sales dropped 50%. After a lot of media attention, the Ministry of Transportation quickly agreed to allow the fresh asparagus signs for the rest of this harvest season.

Across Ontario, farmers don't know when, or if, they will be forced to take their signs down. Given that the time period when the fresh produce is available can be so short, farmers can't afford this uncertainty. Charles told me that after all the trouble he had with the signs, he considered getting out of the asparagus business until a local worker asked what would happen to her job if he did. Every spring, Charles hires local people to pick, package and sell asparagus. These are jobs that would disappear if farmers like Charles aren't allowed to post signage and bring consumers to the farm. I want to thank Charles for his work on this issue and his contribution to this bill.

At a time when Ontario is facing economic challenges and every day we hear about more job losses, shouldn't the government be doing whatever it can to preserve and create jobs, especially in rural communities and in the agriculture industry?

More and more people are recognizing the importance of local food. They recognize not only the great taste and freshness of Ontario-grown food, but also that by buying locally they are supporting our farmers. Every week there are media articles talking about the 100-mile diet and the great food we grow in Ontario.

The Muskoka medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner, recently wrote a column encouraging people to buy locally. He pointed out that "heat- and light-sensitive vitamins like A and C tend to break down when foods are transported or stored for any length of time." His recommendation is: "Buy direct. Take your family on an outing to local farms that sell fresh produce and ask farmers about their products and farming practices."

I want to commend those Ontarians who are trying to eat more locally grown food. But how are people supposed to find the farms and know when produce is harvested unless farmers can put up signs to promote their food products?

As the demand for locally grown food continues to increase, there are great opportunities for our farmers. We need to ensure that red tape doesn't stop them from meeting that demand. We need to do more to connect farmers with the people who want to buy their produce. It's not good enough to sing about how great Ontario-grown food is or spend money on slick advertising campaigns. We need to take real action to help our farmers to ensure that our agriculture industry can not only survive but grow.

When I talk to farmers about what we need to compete internationally, one of the concerns I often hear is that we have too much red tape-rules that are inconsistent or serve no purpose. That's what red tape is. This bill is a small but concrete step toward addressing one of these problems. In fact, the Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust said, "I am surprised the Ontario government hasn't recognized the importance and necessity for what the bill will do to help our farmers survive in these difficult days."

Many farmers in Ontario are struggling to make ends meet and hold on to their farms, such as the young farmers who were missed by many of our government's programs. Tender fruit farmers are worried about markets for their produce now that CanGro has closed.

I recently received a letter in support of the bill, which said in part, "The Niagara Peninsula Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association acknowledges the difficulties facing growers who wish to promote on-farm sales and the problems caused by inconsistent enforcement and overregulation by government. Growers need to be freed from red tape and be allowed to market their crops in ways that are profitable."

When farmers are struggling, they look to the government, not for overzealous enforcement of red tape but for fair, reasonable solutions. They want the government to work with them. For some farmers, giving them the ability to increase on-farm sales may be the difference between keeping and losing the farm, or it might be enough to hire one more person.

This coming Monday marks the beginning of the 10th annual Ontario Agriculture Week. I would like to point out that Agriculture Week was created by another Progressive Conservative private member's bill in this Legislature 10 years ago. It makes this a particularly good time for us all to work together to support Ontario's farmers. We can demonstrate that support by giving this bill second reading and immediately holding committee hearings to keep this bill moving forward.
These are a number of quotes we have from people who have been writing in supporting this bill since we announced that we were introducing it. Grant Robertson, of the National Farmers Union, said: "We would encourage all members of the Legislature to vote for passage of private member's Bill 98. For these members who are willing to stand with you and Ontario's farmers, it is a small step to say we recognize the important contributions farm families make to our economic well-being and the health of Ontarians."

Kevin Schooley of the Ontario Berry Growers Association said, "Our industry has a great tradition of on-farm sales, and this bill would help ensure the tradition continues. The OBGA would like to support your pursuit"-and this is written to me-"of this bill and wish you success in obtaining this valuable bill for all produce growers who rely on on-farm sales."

Dave Mackay of the Renfrew County National Farmers Union says, "We in the NFU hope that Mr. Hardeman's bill around highway signage manages to get past partisanship and passes at the legislative level."

Allan Burn of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency says, "As an industry that relies on farm gate freezer trade, we the board support your bill and its intentions to make it easier for our 3,900 producers to use farm advertising signage."

And Charles Emre, whom I mentioned earlier, an asparagus grower from Norfolk, said, "I was very pleased to hear Mr. Hardeman was introducing a private member's bill addressing the issue of signage to promote agriculture. I believe this is a positive step to support agriculture, Ontario farmers and the economy, as well as making fresh produce more available to all Ontarians."

Anne Howden Thompson of the Ontario Farmer said, "The unique challenge for farmers seeking seasonal sales is that many aren't located on the well-travelled provincial highways, and so both farmers and consumers have come to rely on directional signs that will help people find when crops are being harvested and where they are available."

I hope the members on both sides of the House will support this bill so that we can help our farmers and Ontarians to let them once again follow the signs to discover the great locally grown food straight from the farm. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to introduce this private member's bill.