The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Spirits Canada, and Food and Beverage Ontario attended a lobby day at Queen’s Park on Oct. 2, to request the government hold true to its commitment to grow the sector.
The groups also reiterated the agriculture sector’s economic clout, purported to be worth $40 billion each year.
Why it matters: The agri-food sector is trying to position agriculture as an economic powerhouse in Ontario, requiring investment and regulation simplification.
According to the official press release, the OFA is pressuring the government for greater investments in rural infrastructure, including natural gas and rural broadband, as well as reductions in regulatory red tape, improved labour regulations, and training within the agri-food sector.
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Keith Currie, OFA president, said he is optimistic about the government’s reception to the proposals forwarded by Ontario’s agricultural community.
“A lot of cabinet ministers are people we are very familiar with,” said Currie. “We [also] want to know the government’s priorities so we can try and match them… there’s a fairly long list of things we can put forward.”
Part of OFA’s overall objective is to make current regulations more sensible at the farm level. Currie said progress has been made in some areas, such as the recent changes to wildlife predation compensation. However, other regulations, like those surrounding on-farm use of antimicrobials, will also need to be addressed.
Norm Beal, chief executive officer for Food & Beverage Ontario, a non-profit organization representing Ontario’s food and beverage processors, said he endorses the recommendations made by the OFA. He also said his organization is particularly focused on many “innovation and competitiveness” concerns that overlap with the primary agriculture sector; prominent among these are issues within the temporary foreign worker program, minimum wage, and employee retention.
Regarding the latter, Beal believes it’s particularly important to put greater emphasis on agriculture, and careers within the sector, to secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.
“This government I think wants to modernize and simplify things,” he said.
Jan Westcott, chief executive officer for Spirits Canada, the organization representing Canadian manufacturers of distilled spirits, said growth in the spirits sector starts with fair treatment in the marketplace. Currently, that means doing away with provincial restrictions barring spirits from being sold in grocery stores.
![Pictured from left to right: Zone 6 Director Crispin Colvin, Zone 14 Director Vanessa Renaud, Zone 9 Director Mark Reusser, Mary Brander, Bobby Robinson, Kyla Lewis, and Alaina MacDonald at the OFA annual general meeting in Toronto on Nov. 26, 2024. [Not pictured: Kaylee Wells].](https://static.farmtario.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/26215233/7937BC92-CFBB-47F5-A147-920943E02059-235x132.jpeg)
