REGINA — Two Saskatchewan farmers say the province’s crown land lease policy discriminates against older farmers.
Wayne Galloway of Shellbrook and Gord Chabin, who farms near Meadow Lake, both claim they weren’t awarded leases because of their age. Galloway is 51 and Chabin is 42.
Their concerns came out last week when Liberal leader Lynda Haverstock asked agriculture minister Darrel Cunningham why age is a factor in awarding leases. She said this is a “serious breach of human rights.”
Haverstock said Galloway bid on a piece of land located right next to his own, but lost points under the province’s bid rating system because of his age. The winner was 28 years old. In Chabin’s case, the lease went to a 32-year-old farmer.
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Cunningham told the legislature: “We think that resource base, age and distance from the land are three fair criteria, and I think that is the policy upon which the land has been allocated.”
He said it is desirable to keep young people on the land and give them an opportunity to farm.
Galloway agrees young farmers need help, but he needs a break to keep farming, too.
“I know you want to keep young people in agriculture,” he said in a telephone interview. “But they don’t look at the individual’s situation.”
Galloway relies solely on a livestock operation for income. An accident a couple of years ago put an end to off-farm work.
He said if he had known another farmer would win by only two points solely because he was younger, he would have put the bid in his 28-year-old son’s name. His son farms just two kilometres away.
Galloway also said Cunningham’s claim that age has always been a factor is not true. He said he has a copy of a 1989 lease application which does not ask for a birth date.
“I’m still a productive person,” he said. “They’re just putting me in a slot because I was born in 1943.”
Galloway said he has been seeking information about the lease policy since March. That same month, the agriculture department applied to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission for an exemption under the human rights code, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age.
A hearing was held last week, when both Chabin, who objected to the request, and the department presented their views. Adrienne Clark, communications co-ordinator, said the commission is expected to rule on the exemption request within a month.
Clark said there are nearly 100 exemptions under the code to accommodate certain situations. For example, native groups can often obtain exemptions that allow them to hire only native people.
