The provincial government wanted feedback when it came to farm safety, and local producers feel like their concerns were heard.
Bill 26, the Farm Freedom and Safety Act was introduced on Nov. 20 after information was gathered through an online survey and engagement sessions hosted across the province.
“The government listened to what we were saying,” noted Guy Bonneau, owner of Charlotte Lake Farms, located just east of Bonnyville. “It allows a little bit of flexibility, and they did a consultation process and used the recommendations from that.”
In July the UCP government announced it was looking for information from Albertans ahead of replacing the NDP’s Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, in order to address the uniqueness of agriculture based-businesses.
“There’s an obvious difference between farms and most other industry,” noted MD of Bonnyville Reeve Greg Sawchuk, owner of Muriel Creek Cattle Co. “The amount of work and time isn’t as regimented as you would see in any other industry, and there’s periods of times where both the owners and workers on the farm are going for many hours in the day because the window to get something done is small.”
According to the province, more than 1,200 people completed the survey between July 12 and Aug. 31. Engagement sessions were held during that same time frame.
In a press release, Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Dreeshen said, “We promised Albertans we would consult first and legislate second, and that’s exactly what we did. We’ve taken this feedback, and built common-sense farm workplace legislation that work for people and not against them.”
One concern Bonneau heard from fellow producers was about when Occupational Health and Safety Standards come into effect. The update clarified producers with employees who aren’t family will fall under those regulations.
“Everybody wants farm safety, coming in with that premise that we all want to be safe, now that there’s some guidelines before these rules apply is really important.”
Other adjustments include farms and ranches with five or more paid employees who aren’t family will be required to meet employment standards, and those with five or less workers, or those who work less than six consecutive months, will be exempt.
Under the Farm Freedom and Safety Act, agriculture businesses with more than five waged, non-family employees are also required to have workplace insurance, but will have the choice of where they receive it from. That addressed a problem Glendon farmer Sheila Runzer had with the original Bill 6.
She said, “Now, they’ve put it more into line with what farmers thought was more reasonable in that you could have WCB or the insurance provider of your choice. That was critical because some people already had plans in place that were basically full benefit packages and WCB is just insurance.”
Runzer was among the local producers who protested Bill 6 when it was introduced by the then NDP government in 2015. Although some amendments were made, Runzer didn’t feel the proper consultations were done.
“The government was looking at legislation that children couldn’t work on the farm, ever. I think because of our protests, they did soften that... they pulled back on that, but they didn’t pull back on anything else. But, now, the UCP government has definitely corrected everything as far as I can tell.”
Bill 6 was tabled on Nov. 26, 2015. It became a law on Jan. 1, 2016 after passing second and third reading in December 2018.
The only impacts Charlotte Lake Farms felt as a result of Bill 6 was if they hired paid employees.
“It said that we could have family members, but as soon as you got even one member that wasn’t family, the rules (and restrictions) kicked in,” Bonneau stated. “We couldn’t just hire somebody to come work for us for a week or whatever. It could have restricted us if we weren’t really careful, and we had to be really careful with how we got people to come and help us.”
Bonneau described the Farm Freedom and Safety Act “a very good update. It’s something to work from, and, like everything else, there could be changes down the road but it’s fine for now.”
The labour relation changes came into effect Nov. 20, while any adjustments to insurance won’t come into play until Jan. 31, 2020, should the Farm Freedom and Safety Act be passed.
Bill 26 is currently waiting for third reading.
