Safety advocate has concerns about amended act
One of the strongest advocates for farm worker safety in Alberta has mixed feelings about the amended Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act.
For close to two decades Eric Musekamp has been pushing for farm safety legislation in the province and his requests and recommendations have almost always fallen on deaf ears from many in the agriculture business and politicians.
The years of efforts started producing results when the NDP government passed the controversial Bill 6, albeit with little consultation with farmers, ranchers or front-line workers. Roundtables and working groups were formed.
As was AgCoalition, the organization that ensured all sectors of the agriculture industry would have representation in the discussions. AgCoalition (Alberta Agriculture Farm and Ranch Safety Coalition) was formed by producer and livestock groups across the province in response to Bill 6.
It is comprised of 29 member organizations that represent 97 per cent of the agriculture industry.
“In general, I support and endorse it (the amended Act). I commend and congratulate AgCoalition for all the work that was put into it,” said Musekamp.
“This government has done more for ag safety than all previous governments combined.”
Musekamp also applauds the way the government introduced Bill 6, which, to many caused confusion and frustration among farmers and ranchers.
“The government was very crafty in rolling this out. The way they did it caused the agriculture community to pay attention. They did everybody a favour. This initiative has, and will, improve safety on the farm,” he said.
While Musekamp is pleased overall with the amendments, he said there are gaps and more work needs to be done to make sure it is right.
“It is still very unclear, ambiguous. There are tremendous gaps and holes in it. For instance, certifying legacy equipment. It puts the onus on the farmer or whoever does the inspection; whoever signs off on it,” said Musekamp, noting it will become difficult to have these inspections completed.
More clarity and education is needed with WCB and insurance issues, as well.
“An issue that still needs to be addressed is assistance in helping farmers with the transition, especially with things like insurance. WCB is not comparable to private insurance. There’s no immunity from lawsuits with private insurance,” said Musekamp. “There is still a lot of misinformation out there and there are still challenges and difficulties.”
Moving forward, Musekamp said it is all a step in the right direction.
“We need to have these standards to compete in the world market. I am looking forward to seeing what AgCoalition will do now and we will continue to work with farmers and farm workers on farm safety,” he said.
In addition to the amendments, the Alberta government announced it would provide $6 million over three years for a farm health and safety producer grant program.