OFA outlined key recommendations as part of the Minister’s 2022 Ontario Pre-Budget consultations. This year, the priority will shift towards promoting and protecting Ontario grown food, the role farmers play in tackling climate change, and investing in rural and social infrastructure. The following key points were included in OFA’s pre-budget submission:
- invest to help connect all Ontarians to high-speed broadband by the end of 2025
- strengthen Ontario’s local food production systems by investing in a new Strategic Agri-Food Processing fund to support projects that will enhance processing capacity and food security
- invest in farmer mental health and wellness through the Farmer Wellness Initiative
- Invest in three key areas including: promote and protect Ontario grown food, recognize the key role farmers play in tackling climate change, and invest in rural and social infrastructure
- increase the investment towards the Risk Management Program
- extend OMAFRA’s Enhanced Workplace Protection Program through 2022
- develop a program in collaboration with stakeholders across the supply chain, to encourage local food procurement within government and the broader public sector
- develop incentive-based policies and programs under the Made-In-Ontario Environmental Plan, to recognize the efforts of farmers in managing and enhancing Environmental Ecological Goods and Services for the public’s benefit
- work with municipalities across rural Ontario to develop a cost-effective infrastructure program and provide core funding to implement the program
- when implementing Bill 32: Access to Natural Gas Act, 2018, the government should ensure there is a smart, long-term development plan and proper expansion plans in place to provide returns to local communities
- fund the development and adoption of new technology to use surplus biomass from Ontario farms as an alternative energy source
- acknowledge the realities of rural Ontario differ from those of urban Ontario and accommodate the unique needs of rural schools and medical services and facilities to ensure they remain open to serve the families of rural and small-town Ontario
The OFA and our farm business members and associated organizations are prepared to work closely with the Ontario government to deliver these necessary investments and programs for the benefit of Ontario’s economy and all its citizens.