EDMONTON – There’s a gaping hole in the rules around intensive livestock operations in Alberta, but the province’s agriculture minister shows little interest in rushing to fill it.
Instead, the government is working with farm groups to update the codes of practice for new and expanding livestock operations.
Paul Hodgman, manager of public affairs with Alberta Pork, said while updating the code is important, the lack of regulations is creating fear and uncertainty.
Codes of practice are “neither fish nor fowl,” said Hodgman. They’re full of comfort statements like may do, might do and should do, which are left open to different interpretation.
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“Everybody is saying we’ve got to have something here,” said Hodgman, who wants the committee that developed the draft recommendation recalled to rework the regulations.
The lack of rules frustrates Lori Goodrich, president of the County of Flagstaff Family Farm Promotional Society, which opposed the building of a 7,200-sow barn outside Hardisty. The county’s local development officer had to search out expertise from Alberta Agriculture and industry specialists to analyze the proposed development and decide if the operation was safe and acceptable.
“If Ty Lund would get off his butt and adopt the intensive livestock operation regulations that were developed rather than tabling them, it would give municipalities real regulations to work with. Right now there’s absolutely nothing to go by,” said Goodrich.
For two years the Livestock Regulations Stakeholders Advisory Group crossed the province in an attempt to develop regulations. Lund accepted its draft regulations, but said there were problems with the draft and it did not proceed to legislation.
Instead the regulations have been put on hold while the province updates its Code of Practice for Safe and Economic Handling of Animal Manures and develops guidelines for best management practices.
“These people who continue to say we need regulations that apply across the province quite frankly haven’t got their head out of the sand and figured out that that won’t work,” said Lund during a government agriculture committee meeting.
Darcy Fitzgerald, with the livestock expansion and development unit of Alberta Agriculture, said no one has told the department to put regulations on hold, but the earliest they could be shuffled through the legislature is 18 months.
“It’s not an easy process to build legislation and put it through the House,” he said.
Carol Haley, MLA for Airdrie-Rockyview who asked Lund what’s happening with the regulations, said she wants to keep the issue raised.
“I accept that it needs time to get it right, but in time we need regulations,” she said. “It’s a growing issue and it needs to be dealt with.”
Michael Lohner, Lund’s executive assistant, said the codes are a stop-gap measure until proper regulations are implemented.
“The regulations haven’t been shelved, but there are issues that need to be addressed.”
Whether it’s codes of practice or regulations, something needs to be done soon, said cattle and chicken producer Leighton Kolk, of Iron Springs, Alta., near Lethbridge.
“There is an urgency judging by the public response of ILOs in general,” said Kolk, who farms in an area where public opposition to intensive livestock operations is growing.
“There is some urgency, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. There has to be some political will and I suspect there’s going to be an election soon.”
Ken Nicol, Liberal agriculture critic, said adopting codes of practice rather than government regulations puts the burden of enforcement on the municipal level. Instead of having a government official enforce the rules, it’s up to neighbors to squeal on one another.
“It’s going to divide communities,” said Nicol
“To put that kind of burden on local planning boards is way beyond what we expect local planning boards to address. That’s why this act is important.”
