Local food, young farmers a Green Party priority
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
by SUSAN MANN
A healthy food and local farming system needs to be a higher provincial priority, according to the Green Party of Ontario.
Leader Mike Schreiner says Ontario has only 7,000 farmers under 35 years old. “Without action on this issue today Ontario’s food system will crumble.”
The party has pledged to put forward its Ontario Food and Farming Strategy that supports the province’s farmers while providing all citizens with access to healthy local food.
Among the party’s platform initiatives to provide Ontarians with access to healthy food are:
• investing $200 million over four years for a comprehensive healthy school food program, including purchasing targets for local food;
• investing in community food centres and food security programs and providing tax credits for farmers and processors who donate to charity;
• supporting ‘buy local’ campaigns and setting targets for government institutions.
In the area of developing programs to support financially sustainable local food systems, the party’s platform includes:
• establishing an Ontario Food and Farming Policy Council to coordinate planning across ministries and consult diverse stakeholders;
• rewarding farmers for stewardship practices that provide environmental and societal benefits;
• investing in rural infrastructure research and innovation, bio-based manufacturing products, distribution hubs, farmer co-ops, organic and specialty crops to support farm incomes.
To remove barriers to success for family farms and local food processors, the party plans to:
• end one-size-fits-all regulations for family farms and local food processors;
• implement smart regulations that recognize differences in the size of operations;
• eliminate tax penalties and reduce zoning restrictions to facilitate local on-farm food enterprises and innovative sources of farm income;
• improve income stabilization programs so they are more accessible for family farms, that they cover a wider range of products and they don’t penalize farmers who experience bad years. BF
Questions:
We asked the main provincial political parties to respond to three mandatory questions and respond to one other question of their choice among a list or visit our website to respond to one of our readers’ questions. The elective questions were: What priorities do you think the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' budget should have? What is your position on farm workers having the right to strike? What is your position on the proposed Melancthon Quarry?
BF: How would you convince the federal government to support Ontario’s risk management program and pay its 60 per cent share?
Green Party: We need all parties to work together to push the federal government to pay its share of Ontario’s risk management program. We need to coordinate efforts among rural and urban residents, MPPs and MPs to put pressure on the federal government. The Green Party is committed to supporting whichever party forms the next government in such an effort.
The Green Party supports a permanent, Business Risk Management Program that is more accessible for a diverse range of farms and doesn’t penalize farmers who experience bad years.
BF: How would you attract young farmers to the industry?
Green Party: The best way to attract new farmers is to support policies that make farming profitable. The Green Party will prioritize implementing an Ontario Food and Farming Strategy to support viable farm incomes. We are committed to reducing tax and regulatory barriers to success for family farms. We will support investments in rural infrastructure with $435 million in tax credits to support farmers and local food processors. The Green Party will push for new revenue streams such as renewable energy for farmers. We believe government should lead the way in supporting Ontario farmers with local food purchasing requirements for all government facilities.
The Green Party realizes that the number of farmers is declining, the age of farmers is rising and fewer young people are growing food. Ontario only has 7,000 farmers under the age of 35. We are losing too much farmland to urban sprawl and competing land uses such as quarries and gas plants. It’s time to strengthen our food system so that Ontario can feed itself and others.
The Green Party of Ontario will support and work with new farmers in developing access to grants and affordable loans to facilitate access to capital for new farmers. The Green Party is committed to assisting farmers with succession planning, working with family members and others to ensure that agricultural lands are transferred to the next generation intact.
To attract and retain young farmers, our food and farming strategy introduces refundable tax credits that support peer-based internship and training programs to assist new farmers. We support having OMAFRA staff partner with non-profit organizations such as FarmStart, CRAFT and others developing training programs for new farmers. Further, we will provide refundable tax credits to farmers transitioning to production systems that earn higher margins for farmers.
BF: What will you do to get Ontario companies back into processing Ontario-grown food?
Green Party: Local food processors and family farms create jobs and are an essential part of building sustainable, prosperous local economies. The Green Party will end one-size-fits-all regulations that make it difficult for many local food processors, especially small abattoirs, to compete. Green MPPs will advocate for smart regulations that ensure food safety while taking the size and scope of a business into consideration. We need to create a level playing field for all food producers, especially local processors.
The Green Party will end tax penalties and zoning restrictions for on-farm local food enterprises. We will also support local branding and education projects that assist farmers and local food processors in obtaining higher returns for their products. We will require public facilities to purchase local food providing additional market opportunities for local food processors.
Our rural communities need investments in modern food processing facilities that can help farmers get their products into local stores and in markets around the world. Rural infrastructure provides consumers with the opportunity to purchase fresh, local foods in Ontario stores and markets. The Green Party will support investments in rural infrastructure with $435 million in tax credits to support farmers and local food processors.
BF: What is your party’s position on the Melancthon Quarry?
Green Party: The Green Party is strongly opposed to the proposed mega quarry in Melancthon Township. We have spoken out to protect farmland and clean water at a number of rallies against the mega quarry.
For months, the Green Party has called for a full Environmental Assessment and revisions to the Aggregate Resources Act. It should not take a massive movement of farmers and citizens for the government to wake up to the need for an EA on a project as deep as Niagara Falls that would manipulate 600,000 litres of water every day and threaten 2,300 acres of prime farmland.
The Green Party has called for an end to the project, as well as updates in legislation to protect the environment, farmland and our water supply.
The Green Party is committed to:
• Revising the Aggregate Resources Act to create incentives for more efficient use of aggregates, aggregate recycling, sustainable mining practices and stronger site rehabilitation efforts. Requiring a full Environmental Assessment for aggregate applications that meet the Ministry of Natural Resource’s definition of a mega quarry (currently 150,000,000 tonnes);
• Changing the Ontario Policy Statement to protect Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 farmland. Preservation and protection of our farmland, water resources and natural heritage needs to be a high priority in Ontario. It’s time to put our water supply, our farmland and our communities ahead of special interest.