Basic health and safety awareness training becomes mandatory for farm workers in Ontario Friday, May 16, 2014 by SUSAN MANN New regulations under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act coming into effect this summer will require employers, including farmers, to provide basic health and safety awareness training to all workers and supervisors covered under the provincial legislation. But finding the training materials to use could quickly turn into a scavenger hunt, if one farmer’s experience is any indication. Ken Forth, chair the agricultural industry’s Labour Issues Coordinating Committee, says he has been to his area Service Ontario office two or three times since early April to try to obtain the worker training booklets, and his wife also checked for the booklets at another location, but they were unable to get them. Because he’s associated with a safety association, however, he was able to get some worker booklets printed. “It’s a real boondoggle,” he says, pointing out the regulations come into effect July 1. Forth says he was able to order the supervisor booklets via the labour ministry’s website. Ontario labour ministry spokesman Bruce Skeaff says he didn’t know if there is a shortage of the worker booklets. But people can call the Ministry of Labour Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-877-202-0008 for information on how to get them or with any other questions about the new regulation. The labour ministry says on its website employers don’t have to use the ministry’s booklets. They can use training materials from other sources “as long as the training meets the minimum content requirements set out in the regulation.” Forth says employers can go through the booklets with workers and supervisors or the employees can go through it alone “so they’re familiarized with the whole thing and then they sign it (the booklet) and you keep it in their file.” The training takes about two or three hours, he notes. The labour ministry says on its website that as part of the new regulations employers must keep records showing workers and supervisors have completed the awareness training program. Mandatory basic health and safety awareness training for workers was one of the key recommendations of the province’s Expert Advisory Panel final report. The panel was appointed to review the province’s occupational health and safety system after a scaffolding accident in 2009 killed four workers. Forth says if labour ministry officials audit a farm, they may check to see if the farm’s workers and supervisors have completed the basic safety awareness training program. The labour ministry says employees must complete the basis safety training as soon as reasonably possible and supervisors must do it within one week of starting work as a supervisor. BF Controls around Walkerton area wells are too restrictive say farmers Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respond to Grain Farmers of Ontario wish list
RaboResearch says tariffs are disrupting global pork trade Wednesday, May 21, 2025 According to a recent report from Rabobank, pork prices have rebounded and remain strong despite shifting trade flows and growing economic and consumer uncertainties. Rabobank is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company specializing in the global food and agricultural... Read this article online
Northern Ontario Farms Get Ag Plastic Recycling Wednesday, May 21, 2025 Northern Ontario agriculture communities have compacted 27 metric tons of agricultural plastics. The Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA), in partnership with the northern caucus of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), is proud to announce major progress in its... Read this article online
Ontario's Foodbelt: A Bold Move to Protect Farmland and Food Security Tuesday, May 13, 2025 The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the National Farmers Union, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, and Ontario Farmland Trust are collaborating with Ontario Greens Leader Mike Schreiner and Haldimand-Norfolk independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady to introduce legislation aimed at... Read this article online
Protecting Plant Health Supports All Life Monday, May 12, 2025 Healthy plants are vital to the survival and well-being of people, animals, and nature. They clean the air, support biodiversity, and are the foundation of food and economic systems. On May 12, Canadians celebrate International Day of Plant Health. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)... Read this article online
V6 Agronomy Joins Port of Johnstown Deal Monday, May 12, 2025 V6 Agronomy has partnered with the Port of Johnstown (100 kilometres south of Ottawa) to build a national fertilizer hub. This long-term collaboration should support Canada’s food security, reduce input costs for farmers, and modernize the fertilizer supply chain using clean... Read this article online