Real effects of Bill 6
I am a young wife and mother. I am married to a man who is a cattleman, a rancher, and a farmer. I say young, because we are 25 years old. We have been married for five years, and in that time we have grown our operation from a small hobby size to a size that supports both of us and our growing family, we have three kids. I am a lucky woman, I get to call myself a stay at home mom.
I do the books, I pay the bills. I handle the marketing side of our purebred cattle operation. I do all of the banking, I order and pick up all of our veterinary supplies, I manage the cattle records. I give the men rides to the fields, I make lunches for all the workers, and I take harvest meals out to the field. So I am not just a mom, and I am not just a wife. I do both, and I love it so much.
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My husband is a remarkable man. He goes outside every day and works long, hard hours to bring in the money to keep us going. He keeps our entire business afloat. He makes every production decision, and he does it by himself. Sometimes his days are so long that I don’t see him. Sometimes his weeks are so long that I don’t see him. We do get to talk on the phone a lot, so that is good. He doesn’t get to see the kids all that much.
The kids love our life. Especially the farm. Our daughter has a deep passion for animals. As she gets older it is becoming more and more difficult to tell her she is too young to help. Our son is drawn to the other side of our lifestyle. The equipment. I have never seen something come so natural to a little boy. I am so very proud my kids are the way they are. I love them enough that I will be the one —myself and my husband — to make the call about my kids and their safety around our farming operation. I don’t need a law to tell me when to make that call on whether something is safe or not, and I don’t need any legal formalities in place to do so. Their safety is my number one priority.
Alongside their safety, as my number one priority, is my husband’s. As he works those long hours, he gets tired. When he works quickly, things begin to get more dangerous. This is when my husband’s safety becomes my concern. So, he and I have discussed it. We need more help.
Justifying a hired hand is difficult when your cash flow is limited and you are trying to expand your operation. Bill 6 makes it near impossible.
If this legislation is passed, we will have to pay overtime, put money into workers compensation, give our workers regular hours, (something that simply does not apply on a farm), pay their vacation time, and send them to be educated on farm safety procedures. We cannot, on a farming income as a young family, afford to do this. The end result: we likely won’t hire anyone. My husband will work longer hours than he does now. It puts a strain on both of us, and it will put a strain on our family.
(With) Bill 6, I am no longer to make a choice as a parent, I now have the government telling me that my kids are not allowed to go out to the field to ride along, no matter how much they enjoy it, no matter that it gives them much needed family time, no matter that it gives me a break and a chance to get other jobs done.
Let’s say we do decide to hire someone. If we are forced to pay overtime after eight hours a day, or 44 hours per week, we will likely be forced to lower their regular wage significantly to help counter the weight of the overtime. Working on a farm for minimum wage is not attractive. Few people will want to work for us then.
Additionally, my husband will need to attend courses on farm safety. So at the end of his day, or perhaps right in the middle, he will walk away from work, and instead of spending time with myself and the kids, he will attend a course on safety. He will likely know far more about safety than the instructor will. Our employee will have to do the same, and we will be forced to put safety measures into effect that will make jobs take twice as long.
The more tired and stressed out my husband gets, the less he thinks of his own safety as a priority. He just wants to get done. For myself, workers compensation, overtime, paid vacation, and mandatory safety measures creates an extra pile on my already heaping mountain of paperwork.
Bill 6 is being put into place by people who think they are making our farms a safer place. My reality is, that it will in fact make our farm less safe, by putting added stress and pressure on the man behind it all.
If this legislation is being put into place for the right reasons, why is it being fast-tracked? Why aren’t farmers being asked any questions? Shouldn’t they have a right to an opinion on the matter? If farmers have been doing this forever, why does this law need to be passed immediately, without any time for people to oppose it?
Why is our government planning to put this bill directly into effect less than one month after the information sessions regarding Bill 6 are held throughout the province? Does that really leave enough time for the government to properly educate themselves on the repercussions that may take place following the passing of Bill 6?
Why does it seem that our provincial opposition is scrambling to get them to even consider delaying the matter and putting it through proper assembly? And if it is really being put into place for the right reasons, why are they not clearly defining the parameters before it is passed?
The Alberta government is urging us to complete the online survey if we want to have our opinions heard regarding Bill 6. My husband and I both completed this survey (that has) been strategically worded to effectively portray farmers as villains in any employing scenario. The entirety of Bill 6 feels like more of an attack upon family farms than it does have any positive outcomes.
If you want to change our lives then let it be for the better; not the better intended. I demand to be heard and I expect to be considered.
Becky Page,
Didsbury, Alta.
Peaceful coexistence?
Mischa Popoff is dead wrong when he says there has been “peaceful coexistence” between genetically modified and organics (Stop GM controversy in organics, WP, Nov. 5).
I am an organic grain farmer in Saskatchewan who, like many others, had to stop growing canola because of GM contamination. Saskatchewan organic farmers tried to seek compensation for this loss but were unable to get their class-action lawsuit certified.
Until the proponents of GM find a way to control their technology, we know that coexistence is not possible for any crops. This is why GM alfalfa should never be introduced in Western Canada.
Arnold Taylor
Kenaston, Sask.
Chair , Organic Agriculture
Protection Fund
