Ontario has opened comment periods on five proposed regulatory amendments affecting the agricultural sector.
The amendments proposed under the government’s Protect Ontario — Streamline Permission and Approvals project would have an impact on animal health, meat inspection, bee management, farm implement sellers and grain farmer representation.
Proposed amendments to the Animal Health Act and Drugs and Pharmacies Regulation Act would allow sellers of livestock medicines to register instead of obtaining a license, which would reduce wait times, an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) representative told Farmtario.
“Under a registration model, compliance would be verified through inspection, record-keeping, and traceability,” the OMAFA representative clarified in an email. “These changes respond to federal measures that made medically important antimicrobials prescription-only and mean that products sold under Ontario’s framework are lower risk.”
The information, conditions and requirements for operating under the registration model would be similar to the current licence application and conditions.
Additionally, it removes requirements to display proof of licence and adds an automatic termination of registration to sell livestock medicines if a person “ceases to sell livestock medicines for more than a determined period of time (e.g., one year).”
Active examiners won’t need annual certification renewals
To reduce administrative burdens under O. Reg. 31/05 — Meat under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001, the amendment would remove the annual renewal requirement for the examiner certificate for non-emergency on-farm slaughter of pigs and cattle under 30 months of age and the need to apply for an annual renewal.
“OMAFA has determined that the administrative renewal of the certification is not required for the examiner to continue to be competent,” explained the government spokesperson. “In addition, the proposal includes a provision to allow for the automatic termination of a certificate if certain criteria are met.”
The OMAFA spokesperson provided an example, saying that if an examiner does not conduct an examination for more than five years, the certificate would be terminated.
Beekeepers have fewer rules minding beeswax
OMAFA said the Bees Act amendments eliminate dormant permits and outdated requirements relating to moving bees or beekeeping equipment into, out of or within an Ontario area of quarantine and buying, selling, or transporting beeswax refuse or used honeycomb between April 1 and Dec. 1 in any year.
“Biosecurity and disease control measures, including inspection powers, quarantine authorities, and beekeeper registration, would remain in place under the Bees Act and the Animal Health Act, 2009, to protect bee health and the broader agri-food sector,” said the OMAFA spokesperson.
Permission not needed to open equipment dealerships
The Farm Implements Act and Regulation 369 amendment would reduce burdens to businesses by eliminating the requirement for new distributors and new dealers/distributors (a distributor who also offers farm machinery or parts for sale at retail) to register.
“New dealer registrations will be moving to a permit-by-rule, where a dealer will need to notify the government by completing the registration form but will be able to begin operations on the same day,” the OMAFA representative said.
Grain committee delegation rejigged
Changes to the Grain Plan would adjust how the District Grain Committee delegates are allocated by moving to a five-year average of production acreage, from the current three-year average. Once the minimum delegates are assigned, the remaining 30 delegates will be distributed based on a district’s true share of total production.
OMAFA said the amendments would “better reflect long-term production patterns and ensure a more accurate and fair representation of farmer-members.”
Delegate numbers would be calculated using Agricorp data yield averages across all crop types, replacing the current regulation using Agricorp’s average annual provincial yield per acre regarding grain corn, soybeans or wheat and Statistics Canada data for oats and barley.
Other proposed changes include reducing required district delegate meetings from four to three per year and instituting a 12-year term limit for Grain Farmers of Ontario board members.
The public comment period on Grain Plan amendments closes July 13, with the livestock medicines, meat examiner certificates and beekeeping comment periods closing July 30 and the Farm Implements Act closing July 31.
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