Labour is a top issue facing Ontario agriculture, Minister Rob Flack says
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and agribusiness has identified a top priority for him when he meets with his federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) colleagues in Whitehorse this week.
That priority is labour.
Ontario has the largest domestic ag workforce in the country, employing almost 30 per cent of the sector’s domestic workers. The province also employs 23 per cent of foreign workers who come to Canada. Only B.C. welcomes more temporary foreign workers.
Ontario ag had almost 8,700 job vacancies that year, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) says. And the organization estimates 40,600 Ontario positions will be left unfilled by 2030.
Nationally, the CAHRC predicts more than 100,000 job vacancies in ag by 2030.
“We need to figure that out,” Minister Rob Flack told Farms.com. “We need to find a way to fill these gaps, not only in Ontario but throughout Canada to make sure our food is produced safely and in a timely fashion.”
Premier Doug Ford appointed Flack as ag minister during a June cabinet shuffle that also saw Lisa Thompson move from agriculture to a specific portfolio for rural affairs.
Since then, Minister Flack has held meetings with 28 stakeholders on an ongoing listening and learning tour to get a sense of the issues the Ontario ag sector is concerned with.
A common denominator among groups he met with is the elimination of the carbon tax.
“It’s punitive, it’s wrong and it’s costing consumers, farmers and processors millions of dollars and they’re not seeing the benefits,” Minister Flack said.
Multiple other issues like the grocery code of conduct, fertilizer tariffs, animal disease preparedness and business risk management programming have come up during his discussions with Ontario stakeholders.
And he expects his FPT colleagues to address similar issues during the meeting.
“Ultimately these are key issues I expect to be on the table,” he said. “We’ve got all the provinces with a bevy of interests and concerns but I think it’ll boil down to some common denominators we’re facing across Canada.”
Leading up to the FPT ag ministers’ meeting, Farms.com connected with multiple ag and related ministries to find out which topics are important in those jurisdictions.
Here are the responses Farms.com has received.
Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation, RJ Sigurdson, indicated animal disease preparedness and improving the sustainability of business risk management programs are top of mind.
In B.C., Minister Pam Alexis says the number one issue facing farmers is the continued increase to cost of production.
Minister Caitlin Cleveland from the Northwest Territories says emergency preparedness and reducing internal barriers to trade are important priorities for the ag community in the territory.
Minister Margaret Johnson will represent New Brunswick at the FPT meeting.
Input costs and attracting young people to the ag industry are among the province’s priorities, she told Farms.com.
Minister Elvis Loveless will bring the voice of Newfoundland & Labrador agriculture to the meeting.
Animal disease preparedness and food self-sufficiency are important topics for the province, his department told Farms.com.
And P.E.I.’s ag department, on behalf of Minister Bloyce Thompson, said he’s ready to bring the voices of P.E.I. farmers to the meeting to grow local and national agriculture.
Farms.com also connected with federal Minister MacAulay’s office about the upcoming meeting.
Strengthening Canadian ag is a shared responsibility and the FPT meeting helps everyone improve the long-term sustainability of Canadian ag, his office said.
When Farms.com contacted Saskatchewan Agriculture for comment from Minister David Marit, the department deferred to Minister Flack.