When the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced that it would be scrapping the Line Fences Act in November, it had some in rural Ontario scratching their heads.
The Act, which has little application in towns and cities, had helped keep the peace by providing a method of solving fencing disputes between rural properties and kept the disputes out of courts.
Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s minster of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) announced at the Beef Farmers of Ontario annual meeting that OMAFRA would be taking over the Line Fences Act, as of April 1. OMAFRA says the transition followed discussion with agricultural stakeholder groups.
The act will be transferred to OMAFRA in its current form, so the program will continue as it has.
