What are political parties pledging for Ontario agriculture?

Farmtario has outlined what each party has said it will provide or focus on for the agriculture sector in the province if elected on June 2. Here is a summary of what each party has pledged for Ontario agriculture:

Progressive Conservative party

In its platform, the PC party has pledged an investment of $10 million in 2022–23 to establish a Food Security and Supply Chain Fund, which is said will “strengthen Ontario’s food supply, including addressing barriers to recruitment by attracting and retaining domestic workers, closing sector skill gaps, and supporting the well-being of workers.”

Another $10 million will be provided in 2022–23 for ongoing support and expansion of the Enhanced Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program to help farms and agri-food operations take additional measures to support the health and safety of agri-food workers.

The PC’s will allocate $5 million in 2022–23 for emergency support initiatives to help livestock producers if emergency processing disruptions occur, giving the example of the beef set-aside programs.   

The PC party will invest $2.6 million in protecting the health and safety of incoming international agricultural workers. This money will be used to develop a welcome centre with health resources, as well as additional vaccination clinics.

Liberal Party 

The Liberal’s goal to transition to a fully clean electricity supply also includes a commitment to phase out reliance on natural gas, ban new gas plants, create 25,000 new green jobs, and pursue green hydrogen transportation and storage.

They’d increase the Greenbelt instep with farmers and designate 30 per cent of the land as protected areas, up from the current 10 per cent. In addition, the Liberals would repeal what they consider to be harmful changes to the conservation and environmental legislation, clean up and reduce pollution in rivers and lakes, support best practices in farming and agriculture and better protect endangered and exotic animals.

The Liberals will develop a made-for-rural climate action plan that recognizes the unique challenges of reducing Greenhouse Gases in agriculture and remote settings, including working with the feds to strengthen carbon tax rebates for farmers. In addition, they would create a more resilient and sustainable agriculture sector by supporting best practices to keep soil healthy and maximize carbon storage.

To increase Ontario’s food retail and processing resiliency, the Liberals would legislate fair and open negotiations between retailers and suppliers to drive down food prices in the long term. They would also preserve farmland, promote sustainable farming techniques, invest in regional processing capacity and review potential foreign ownership of farmland restrictions to increase the resiliency of the province’s food supply chain. In addition, they pledge to invest $50 million to expand the province’s network of international trade offices and strengthen export support services, resulting in new jobs. Finally, the Liberals would take a shot at harmonizing and reducing interprovincial trade barriers, enhancing the Ontario Food Exports Program, and maximizing export opportunities in agri-food and wine by hiring additional geographical specialists.

Green Party 

The Greens promise to freeze urban boundaries and permanently protect prime farmland from non-agricultural use and designate class one and two lands into the Greenbelt to halt the daily loss of farmland.

The Green Party would create an Ontario Food and Beverage manufacturers’ tax incentive for purchasing locally grown inputs and a made-in-Ontario public institution food purchasing target. Additionally, they’d initiate a mandatory, enforceable, and transparent Federal-Provincial-Territorial grocery retail code of conduct to benefit consumers and farmers.

The Greens would establish an infrastructure fund to support Ontario-based companies investing in food processing facilities and eliminate tax penalties for farms with small-scale value-added on-farm production facilities.

The Green Party would protect farms switching from chemical agriculture to a soil-health business model against losses for up to a decade, with a shift of program dollars towards soil-health and regenerative ag and away from industrial and intensive animal agriculture.

The Risk Management Program investment would exceed 85 per cent coverage under the Greens. There would be a shift of program dollars from supporting industrial and intensive animal ag to supporting soil health and regenerative ag and using surplus food to feed people and animals to avoid sending it to landfills.

The Greens would initiate policies for the retention and succession of family-owned/ new Canadian farms and provide education and grants to encourage student entry into the agri-food business.

They’d promote specialty training programs focused on sustainability and soil health and enhance the supply management system to encompass more farm products.

They would rebuild ag-extension programs, hire soil-health agronomists, purchase farmland for a protected Land Trust making it available for new farmers at affordable prices, and lobby the federal government to restrict farm products in trade deals.

Their platform proposes the creation of a Climate Adaptation Fund levy to fund municipal, infrastructure, buildings, and agricultural and forestry programs to help these areas withstand the increased effects of climate change.

The Greens said integrating climate resilience into land-use planning, especially when designing, sizing, and siting infrastructure and expanding natural infrastructure on private and public lands to mitigate climate risks.

When it comes to animal welfare, the Greens propose enhanced animal welfare standards for animal agriculture by implementing “more robust regulations and inspections of the housing, sale, and transport of agricultural animals and ensure enforcement.”

However, they’d oppose the use of ornamental furs except for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people, increase the minimum wage floor by one dollar ($16) starting in 2022 and increase provincially legislated sick days from three to 10 but provide a fund to small businesses to support the program.

The Greens would reinstate the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and fund endangered species recovery efforts and habitat stewardship programs.

They would also cancel the Species at Risk Conservation Fund, terminate the outdoor use of neonicotinoid pesticides, restore the pesticide advisory committee, and regulate outdoor lighting to include dark sky protection.

The Greens promise to protect natural heritage to preserve biodiversity and good soil, wetlands, forests, and watersheds by expanding the Greenbelt by adding a new ‘Bluebelt’ to safeguard the clean water supply.

New Democratic Party

The NDP wants to partner with the agricultural community to build a provincial food strategy that gets more locally sourced food onto tables while supporting on-farm jobs, food processing, transportation, biofuels, service, and retailers. Before any infrastructure program would be allowed, the NDP would require mandatory Agricultural Impact Assessments.

They’d also lift the cap on Risk Management, support Supply Management, and provide mentorship, financial advice and loan guarantees to young farm families and first-time farmers. They will also initiate a Grocery Code of Conduct to improve transparency and fair dealing within the grocery industry.

They will increase the Greenbelt to help protect farmland, end exclusionary zoning, increase the supply of affordable housing options, and hold the line of urban sprawl.

The New Blue Party

The New Blue Party does not have any specific mention of agriculture or rural Ontario in its BluePrint platform.