Q&A with Minister Lisa Thompson

Farmtario sat down with Lisa Thompson, recently reappointed as Ontario’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), to ask how she will tackle pressing issues facing the Ontario agri-food sector during her next term.

Q: It’s clear you are proud to represent OMAFRA, especially considering the personal attachment you have with the agri-food sector. But still, agri-food is putting pressure on initiating provincial farmland protection and ensuring solid economic growth potential and sustainability for producers. How will OMAFRA address this concern?

A: “First, (regarding sustainability) we’re going to sustain our agri-food industry by bringing more manufacturing and processing closer to home and adding that stability throughout our supply chain.”

Thompson said she and Premier Doug Ford are dedicated to attracting investment in manufacturing and processing opportunities within Ontario to keep the raw commodities local and close to the farmers.

“That’s going to cut down transportation costs, provide more jobs and make consumers confident that they have great quality food being processed right here in Ontario,” she said. “That’s how our sustainability will continue to drive forward.”

 The goal is for Ontario to be the go-to for value-added processing provincially, nationally and internationally, in addition to providing a local quality food source for consumers.

“This sector is incredibly important, and we’re going to be embracing technologies and new innovations to continue to grow,” she said, adding that agri-food contributes $47 billion to the provincial GDP and accounts for 800,000 jobs.

“Our agri-food sector continues to grow,” she said. “We increased by over five per cent this last year in 2021 alone, and the total value of farm cash receipts have grown by approximately 40 per cent since 2016.”

Q: But the problem is, Minister, that the (daily) rate at which agricultural farmlands are lost has also nearly doubled in the last six years. All the processing in the world can’t do anything if we don’t have the land to grow the product.

A: “The important question here is whether these are production or fallow acres,” she said. “I need to drill down a bit more into that to determine whether they were acres taken out of production or just acres.”

Thompson said she needs full disclosure, and one of her priorities will be teasing apart the data to see where and what type of acreage is involved.

“We (need to) have the facts because what’s most important is yield and moving forward and growing our sector,” she said. “We’re going to work with the general farmer and commodity organizations to really strike a balance in terms of being on the same page and move forward together. That’s the important thing.”

Q: Another concern is risk mitigation for food production, whether that means increased biosecurity protection, business risk management improvements or other programs that strengthen production in the face of weather crises, economic instability or the rising costs within food production.

A: “I appreciate that perspective very much,” she said. “I would suggest our commodity organizations truly appreciate that both myself and Premier Ford stand with them when we talk about the importance of mitigating risks.”

Thompson pointed to increasing Ontario’s Risk Management Program by $50 million a year ahead of schedule, the AgriStability program and pressing the federal government to do its part within the available programs.

At the federal, provincial, and territorial agriculture ministers meeting this month, Thompson said she and her provincial peers would continue to emphasize that all levels of government must collectively manage unpredictable challenges.

“And, with that, making sure that farmers not only in Ontario but across Canada have that equity in terms of support.”

Q: Red tape is a massive bone of contention within the agricultural sector. What brought about the initiation of a dedicated Red Tape Reduction Ministry?

A: Thompson said the agri-food sector made the need apparent.

“When we formed the first mandate, (we heard) that people were being handcuffed by outdated and in some cases redundant red tape,” she said. “We need to review the opportunities to harmonize regulations instead of layering (them) on. We also need to look at what isn’t necessary, based on the realities in 2022, and how we move forward.”

The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade had an associate Minister for Red Tape, but this mandate will allow ????Minister Gill ???to make strong strides forward.

 “I said to Minister Gill right out of the gate, “we will be working with you from an OMAFRA perspective to continue to get government out of the way as much as possible to enable our agri-food sector to continue to grow.”

Q: Minister, is there anything you want to discuss? A vision you have? A focus for your next four years as minister of agriculture, or a message you’d like to relay?

A: “I stand with our commodity organizations across this province when I say people are ready for Ontario to lead in the agri-food sector. We’re going to push research and new technologies and innovation to make Ontario the leading jurisdiction when it comes to an overall integrated agri-food sector.”

With Ontario’s community of research stations and innovation centres, Thompson said she will look at legislation to ensure its up to date and supports advancing those assets.

Ensuring Ontarians have confidence in local food security and a stable provincial supply chain will be a top priority.

“At the end of the day, we want to make sure OMAFRA is supporting Ontario farmers and agri-food businesses with the right policies that make sense for us to continue to grow,” she said. “And that’s what I’m looking to focus on in the days, weeks and months ahead.”