Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and honourable MLA's. My name is Coral Robinson and I live on my family cattle and grain farm three hours northeast of Edmonton with my husband and two small children. We are fortunate enough to be keepers of land that has been in my family for three generations. Our farm has one hired hand and he is treated just like family. We would never ask him to do anything that he feels is unsafe. He works for us because farming is his passion and love as well. I just want to make one thing clear here today. We are not farmers against change, and we are not farmers against safety regulations in the farming industry. We are here today because Bill 6 will change the lifestyle of thousands of very real families like my own across Alberta by January 1, 2016. We simply want to be heard by the Alberta government before Bill 6 becomes legislation. Why does it have to be pushed through the Legislature at breakneck speed without consulting with the people who are most affected? We are here asking for the Alberta government to stop Bill 6, right now and come and get to know us. Did you know that not one of our ministers pushing this legislation has made a living farming?
lf they had, they would realize that there has to be a distinction between family run farms and industrial farms which are operated by employees. The family farm is our home. It is where we live; it's where we work, and it's where we play. lt is where our children will grow up and learn life skills that they are fortunate to learn on the farm. It’s where our neighbours and friends gather when we need help, with the only payment, a good meal and maybe some drinks at the end of the day. The family farm is a unique way of life. It is a business because it has to be. lt is a lifestyle first, which involves hard work, long hours, risks, love, and family. You could not possibly understand the work, the passion, and the life that comes with it, unless you live it. Bill 6 will regulate when I can teach my children our very lifestyle. It will regulate if my neighbours, family and friends can offer a helping hand when we need it most. It will regulate the hours worked in a day when we are harvesting and snow is in the forecast. This is not something that should be rushed through and passed before our MLAs go on Christmas break. This is over 100 years of lifestyle and tradition of farming families that is now going to be regulated. These are families who have passed knowledge and passion for farming down through several generations. Can we not take time to get this right?
Ms. Notley and her supporters have painted safety on the face of Bill 6. I will tell you this. Safety of my family in my home and on my farm is the absolute most important thing to me. I know my three-year-old does not understand what OH & S legislation means. What she does understand is the love she has for everything farming. What she could understand is educational material directed toward her age group focusing on the dangers and hazards that are on the farm. What she won't understand is not being able to bear any responsibility on the farm until she is 12, and even after she is 12, she is allowed to spend only two hours on a school day doing what she has longed to do since she started walking and talking but only after I’ve obtained a permit from the Alberta government. If the government truly wants to save lives of people on the family farm, why not try to educate rather than regulate? We truly believe in safety but what we don't believe in, is being told when our children can have chores and responsibilities at our home.
Our urban friends: I want to try to relate to you how this group of people feels here today. Bill 6 is like you giving me a blank cheque to fix your car. I know nothing about you but I assume things like, you have a fancy car so you have a lot of money. I assume that you use your children, maybe even putting them in harm's way to earn your money to have your nice car. I am telling you that I am going to fix your car fairly but I am not going to tell you what I have found wrong with it. I am simply going to fix it and write the amount of money you owe me on the cheque. You are not allowed to dispute this amount. If Bill 6 passes through the Legislature in the next couple of days (just over two weeks after it was first proposed), it is like that blank cheque for farm families. At this point, there is no distinction between family farming operations and industrial farms which have several employees. Ms. Notley claims that there will be distinction but she is going ahead on passing Bill 6 right now as a standard blanketing program. How can we trust that our lifestyle will be protected through proper consultation after this Bill is already law? I forgot to mention when you brought your car to me to get fixed that I in fact am not mechanic, I am a gardener and I have never fixed a car in my life.
I want to leave you with a few realities of the family farm which are near and dear to my heart:
For the 75-year-old grandfather who still has 30 cows left on his farm and the only reason he keeps them is because he is afraid if he sells them, he will have no reason to get out of bed in the morning; he has made his money and this is his retirement. This is his life and all he knows. His children and grandchildren help him when it comes time to bring in the cows or process calves. To them, and him, this is not work: this is love, happiness, pride, and a reason to get together after months apart. At the end of the year, he has to sell his calves and there is a business transaction, but this is not business. How do you regulate that? For the husband and wife who work 12 hours a day at their day job and come home to three hours of chores to make sure their cattle are fed and taken care of. They built their farm from the bottom up. They are trying to afford their life and love of farming. This is their home; not their job. How do you regulate their hours of work in a day? For the dad who picks up 'mom and the kids' on a Sunday afternoon with the side by side to go check cows; this is a family day. This is not work today; it is love and life but to OH & S, this would be work.
Where do you draw the line? How do you regulate that?
Bill 6 is not cut and dry. There is no possible way that the proper boundaries and regulations can be set by January 1, 2016 while respecting our rights as families to live our lifestyle at our home. This is the wrong approach for family farms. We believe in safety and we believe that there is a place for OH & S in the farming industry BUT there is one special and unique distinction that should be made, and that is the family farm. Other provinces have this distinction and Alberta should too.