For immediate release
December 8, 2009

New Legislation Doesn’t Work for Farmers
 

QUEEN’S PARK – Ernie Hardeman, Oxford MPP and PC critic for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said that today the McGuinty government used their closure motion to force through Bill 204, the Animal Health Act, in spite of farm organizations’ concerns that it will result in red tape and a loss of farmers’ rights.

“While everyone supports the goals of animal health and food safety, the bill that the McGuinty government passed today doesn’t accomplish this goal,” said Hardeman. “We tried to work with the government to make it a bill that would work for farmers and one we could support – but they refused to listen.”

The problems in the Animal Health Act include:

1. compensation is not mandatory – even for direct costs, such as destroying animals;
   
   
2. there are many circumstances in which warrants aren’t required to enter private property, including for bureaucratic inspections, leading to major concerns about biosecurity;
   
   
3. that it allows people implementing orders, such as veterinarians, to use reasonable force, creating potentially dangerous situations;
   
   
4. the traceability system farmers and agricultural organizations asked for is largely missing from the Act; and
   
   
5. that it creates significant red tape and additional costs for farmers.

“We brought forward amendments to address the concerns of agricultural organizations and the problems with this bill, but Liberals voted down every one,” said Hardeman. “Farmers deserve a government that will work with them to create strong, effective legislation not one that results in duplication and red tape.”

The PC Caucus tabled a number of amendments to improve the bill such as making compensation mandatory, requiring warrants except in urgent circumstances, limiting licenses to those that were in the Acts being appealed and making an industry advisory committee mandatory. The Liberal members used their majority on the committee to vote all of the amendments down.

During third reading debate, Hardeman, on behalf of the PC Caucus, once again extended an offer to work with the Liberal party if they wanted to create an Act that would work for Farmers.

“Animal health and food safety are important issues – they need to be addressed properly with an Act that will protect Ontarians and help our farmers be more competitive,” said Hardeman. “We just cannot support an Act that seems designed more to increase bureaucracy and remove farmers’ rights than to improve animal or human health.”

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For more information, contact:
Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford
(416) 325-1239