A local farmer off Highway 575 at the top of the Carbon Hill voices his displeasure with hay bales.
The controversy over Bill 6 isn’t going away as the government continues to jockey to make the bill law, and farmers and ranchers get stronger in their resolve to put an end to what they see as flawed legislation.
The story has been developing hour by hour.
On Tuesday evening, the Alberta government served notice to introduce motions to invoke closure on debate of the Farm Safety Bill. On Wednesday morning, House Leader Brian Mason introduced the motion, invoking closure on the Second Reading of the Bill. It passed 39-24.
At 3 p.m. on Monday, Lori Sigurdson, Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour and Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry held a media availability to introduce amendments to the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act. These amendments “explicitly exclude the application of WCB and OHS to owners of a farm or ranch operation, family members of the owners, and friends and neighbours who volunteer their time on the farm or ranch.”
“Across Alberta, we have heard farming and ranching families’ concerns. We know that farming in Alberta is more than a business, it is a way of life. It has always been our intention to preserve that way of life. The amendments explicitly exclude owners of farming or ranching operations, and their family members, from the mandatory application of WCB and OHS rules. We are also introducing amendments to assure Albertans that neighbours can still volunteer to help each other out, without being subject to the new rules,” said Sigurdson.
These amendments were expected, but still come as opposition to the bill continues to mount. The Official Wildrose Opposition welcomed the amendment but say the bill still needs to go back to the drawing board. One of the main concerns is meaningful consultation.
“Albertans can count on Wildrose to stand up for them against this legislation,” Wildrose Shadow Agriculture Minister Rick Strankman said. “The NDP have broken the trust of farmers and ranchers, and need to actually consult with them before redrawing the bill.”
Over the weekend, the Wildrose reported that 1,300 Alberta residents attended seven different rallies. One of the largest was in Bassano which Strankman attended, as did a number of area farmers, Jim Eskeland’s neighbours said.
For Eskeland, he would like to see the government be transparent about the bill.
“They need to come out and put their cards on the table, let’s negotiate this now and pass it in one step-done,’ said Eskeland. “I don’t think anybody is arguing that we cannot have some sort of safety net for farm workers. Anybody I have talked to, who have employees, are doing it privately.”
He says simply by how the bill was handled, it has caused distrust in the government.
"I think the biggest thing that has everyone in an uproar is they tried to ram it through, and didn’t say anything about it until it passed first reading. It’s a money grab and it is going to affect a lot of people.”
“If they put it to a committee for public discussion, that would be fine,” he said.
Without consultations, many are still wondering the implications of the bill.
“There is a heck of a lot of difference between a feedlot and a family farm,” said Eskeland.
“You don’t know what to believe or what not to believe,” he said. "The government is very clever with how they have put it out there as a safety measure, but if they do bring in OHS regulations, how does a rancher get on his horse?”
They should have come out and said, ‘this is what we would like to see,’ get rid of all the misconception but that is what happens when you don’t consult with people.”
Eskeland said the government has underestimated the power of the rural electorate.
“The fight is getting stronger,” he said. “Over the week you could see on some of the social media groups I am in, it is getting fired up, There are vocal people at these rallies, but I think if they pass, I think there will be a much bigger push.”
