Farm employer group 'delighted' by Supreme Court ruling Friday, April 29, 2011 by SUSAN MANNOntario’s Agricultural Employees’ Protection Act is constitutional, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.The decision, released Friday, elated a group that represents farm employers and disappointed the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada (UFCW), which argued for years the provincial Act was unconstitutional because it doesn’t require employers to bargain over wage and job conditions and lacks a mechanism to resolve labour disputes. The Ontario Appeal Court ruled in favour of the union’s argument in November 2008. The province appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments in December 2009. “We’re officially delighted with the ruling,” says Ken Forth, chair of the agricultural industry’s Labour Issues Coordinating Committee of Friday’s decision.One justice disagreed with the majority decision but Forth says that’s not a concern. “That’s always the case. That’s why they have nine judges. Eight-to-one is a pretty big win.”“Farmer workers in Ontario are entitled to meaningful processes by which they can pursue workplace goals,” says Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Mr. Justice Louis LeBel in the 8-1 majority written decision posted on the Supreme Court’s website Friday morning. The right of an employees’ association to make representations to their employer and have their views considered in good faith is “a derivative right” under a portion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is necessary to the meaningful exercise of the right to free association. The provincial Act, established in 2002, “provides a process that satisfies this constitutional requirement,” the majority of the justices say in the written decision.The province isn’t required to provide a particular form of collective bargaining rights to agricultural workers “in order to secure the effective exercise of their association rights,” the justices wrote.Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, the court’s sole dissenting voice, wrote that the Act doesn’t “protect and was never intended to protect collective bargaining rights.”Stan Raper, spokesman for UFCW Canada, called the Supreme Court’s decision that Ontario’s Act met the freedom to associate portion of the Canadian Charter, “bad news.” Madam Justice Abella was the only voice of reason, he says. Sarah Petrevan, spokesperson for Ontario Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell, says, the court has endorsed the Act and “so we value that decision.”Raper says there’s nothing to stop the provincial government from changing the current law to one “that provides basic protection for farm workers.” He says the union will now focus on convincing the province to make the change. The court has endorsed a portion of the union’s argument that collective bargaining rights were secured in Canada by a previous court decision in British Columbia involving public health workers, he adds. BF BMO expects farm sector to grow Politicians missing opportunity
New CEO for Livestock Research Innovation Corporation Friday, September 13, 2024 Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) is promoting from within with the appointment of the organization’s newest Chief Executive Officer. Industry Services Manager Kelly Somerville has been tapped to assume the role as of September 3, replacing retiring CEO Mike McMorris.... Read this article online
Milwaukee Extended Anvil High Torque Impact Wrench Thursday, September 12, 2024 Measuring torque is a common on-farm task it can sometimes be a challenge to accomplish this for multiple and varied pieces of equipment, that where Milwaukee’s M18 FUEL™ 1" D-Handle Ext. Anvil High Torque Impact Wrench w/ ONE-KEY™ can provide value. Cordless tools create convenience,... Read this article online
Ontario and Feds look to strengthen the provincial agri-food sector Monday, September 9, 2024 The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced they will be investing an additional $3.5 million in the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) to support the development and adoption of new technologies for farmers, food processors, and agribusinesses that will enhance... Read this article online
The Great Ontario Yield Tour predicts a record-breaking soybean crop Friday, September 6, 2024 The Great Ontario Yield Tour is predicting the 2024 Ontario soybean yield will be 54.12 bu/ac—a NEW RECORD high surpassing the previous record of 53 bu/ac set last year. If the prediction is correct, it will be the best soybean crop ever produced in Ontario!... Read this article online
IPM needs volunteers Thursday, September 5, 2024 The International Plowing Match & Rural Expo 2024 (IPM) could use a helping hand for volunteers. The IPM is being held this year in Lindsay, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, between October 1 and 5, 2024. While we are aware that the majority of the popular event is being held during... Read this article online