Farmers armed, not with pitchforks and spades, but with insight into the impracticalities and consequences of Bill 6, hope to garner enough signatures to petition the government to stop Bill 6.

Bill 6: Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act passed third reading at the Alberta legislature 44-29 on Dec. 10, and will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2016.

“We’re angry because they didn’t talk to us about it,” said Sheldon Bignell, a Parkland County farmer who was protesting the bill, and the lack of consultation the Alberta Government has had with farmers, outside Stony Plain MLA Erin Babcock’s office on Dec. 11, the morning after the bill passed.

“We want to draw attention to the disgust we feel in the way this process was handled,” added Albert Wagner, another county farmer in attendance at the rally.

Babcock was not present at the rally, due to other legislative commitments, nor was she in attendance during the vote, because she was sick.

“We listened to the reasons about why our constituents were upset, and we clarified those issues,” said Babcock.

“I introduced the amendments (which removed family members and neighbours from being subject to the bill) on behalf of the government, which made it very clear we are not infringing on the family farm.”

As for Spruce Grove MLA Trevor Horne, he voted in support of Bill 6 saying, “as far as possible everyone injured at work should have the right to compensation.

“At the end of that day that is what Bill 6 did, even though the process wasn’t perfect.”

However, the process is what matters to Alberta farmers.

“They (Alberta Government) talk about consulting farmers and that they’re listening, but they don’t hear us,” Wagner said.

WCB accounts discounts small farms

One of the biggest issues for farmers is the bill’s order to have mandatory Workers Compensation Board (WCB) accounts for all paid employees.

This will affect many small family farms in the area directly, because they may not be able to cover the costs of WCB accounts.

Valerie Barter is a sheep sheerer in Parkland County and has already had farms call to tell her they won’t be hiring her, because they can’t afford to open a WCB account for her.

Barter contracts out her sheep sheering services, but she is not an official contractor.

If she were to become an official contractor, she could then carry the cost of her own WCB, but it still may result in a loss of business.

“If I go to a farm and they’re not up to code — for example if they don’t have the right fencing or they don’t have the right materials — I can’t legally sheer their sheep because it doesn’t comply with OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) standards,” Barter said.

As well, Barter has five sheep of her own, and if she brings in anyone to, for example, trim their hooves, she would have to open WCB accounts for those paid workers.

Barter can’t afford that, as she herself only charges $5 per sheep to sheer.

According to WCB, the farming and ranching industry premiums for 2016 range from $1.70 to $2.97 per $100 of insurable earnings, based on the nature of operations. A more detailed breakdown of the WCB rates can be found at http://ow.ly/W6j43.

Farms have until April 30, 2016 to set up accounts for their employees.

What is a paid neighbour?

Another issue with the legislation is determining what constitutes a paid farm worker.

According to Bill 6, only paid employees will be subject to OHS regulations and WCB, and not neighbours or family members.

However, Onoway farmer Brad Javorsky pointed out how defining a paid farm worker was not so simple, when he spoke at the farm and ranch session in Leduc on Dec. 7.

“When I hire a neighbour with his round baler to come and bale straw, he is neither a contractor nor an employee, but he becomes an employee, because I have hired him and he is not a contractor,” Javorsky said.

Danielle Larivee, minister of service Alberta, was in attendance at the session and said to Javorsky, “legally, if you plan on issuing him a T4 at the end of the year, then he would fall under Bill 6, but if you are not going to give him a T4 at the end of the year, then he doesn’t fall under it.

“End of story.”

However, in instances like these, Javorsky would pay his neighbour directly and give him a receipt. Therefore, no T4 is issued.

So, now Javorksy, like many other farmers, is wondering who constitutes a paid farm worker and whether or not his neighbour, whom he pays, requires a WCB account.

If this is the case and the neighbour is considered a paid farm worker, then Javorsky encounters another problem, one of time.

Javorsky remarked that due to the nature of farming, he cannot say for certain when he will need help from his neighbour, nor how often that help will be required.

Therefore, he believes he will be forced to set up WCB accounts for neighbours, who he may or may not hire, just so that he doesn’t violate Bill 6 should he need their services.

“How do I move forward and grow my operation with confidence, without being stifled by the fear that if I employ somebody, I have to go through (WCB),” Javorsky asked.

There were ministry technical experts in attendance at the farm and ranch session who pointed out there may be exceptions for casual hires like Javorsky was describing, but could not give concrete definitions or regulations regarding this particular situation.

Minister of Agriculture Oneil Carlier, who may have been better able to answer those questions, was not present at the session.

Legislation lacks details

At the farm and ranch session, Ministers Deron Bilous and Danielle Larivee stated clearly that Bill 6, as it currently reads, has enforceable regulations regarding only paid farm workers.

The rest of the regulations will be detailed later, after thorough consultation with farmers and stakeholders has been made.

These details will be important, because a farm is both a work site and a home site, so regulations need to be clear on how any health and safety governing body, like OHS, will regulate a farm.

Specifically, issues regarding whether children can be paid to help their parents or neighbours with farm work need to be worked out.

As well, hours on a farm are not the regular 9 to 5, and can involve the operation of industrial machinery like tractors and combines.

In the farming industry, knowledge of operations is passed from generation to generation while the work is being done (not in a schoolroom).

“On the farm you’re pretty much everything, you’re a plumber, electrician, mechanic ergonomist … and the only way to learn all that is on the job,” said Tony Kirkland, a farmer from Spruce Grove.

“And we are teaching our children safety right on the farm.”

Health and safety for all

According to a press release from the Alberta Government, their intention in creating Bill 6 is to “bring Alberta farm and ranch safety standards in line with other provinces, and ensure that if a wage-earning employee is injured or killed on the job, that person and their family have the same access to financial supports as employees in other sectors.”

While many farmers have argued that they treat their employees well, and offer them better compensation than they could ever receive through WCB, there is still the possibility that not all farm workers work in such hospitable environments, and therefore require government protection.

In a blog post for Parkland Institute, Bob Barnetson, a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University, wrote “under current rules, farm workers in Alberta have no right to know, for example, if the chemicals they are handling are carcinogenic, and no right to refuse unsafe work.

“Farm workers are also barred from choosing to work together for better workplaces by deciding to form a union.”

These concerns may arise from the fact that, on average, there are 17 farming fatalities every year (Alberta Government data).

Within the last few months especially, a 10-year-old boy was killed while driving a forklift near Killam, Alta. and three sisters suffocated in a canola seed truck near Withrow, Alta.

Bill 6 is an attempt to reduce and prevent such fatalities.

As Larivee said, “all wage-earning employees should have the right to basic protections, including a workplace that is safe, fair and healthy.”

Western and central Canada health and safety legislation

In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec there is health and safety legislation governing farms. The legislation in these provinces applies to paid farm workers, and all of them require mandatory WCB accounts for their employees, except Saskatchewan. As well, farm workers can unionize in these provinces, except Ontario. In Ontario, farm workers can form an association, but it is not a union and they cannot strike.

yasmin.mayne@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @YasminMayne