Our coverage of Bill 6 draws attention

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Published: December 3, 2015

Stories by Camrose bureau reporter Mary MacArthur about farmer protests over the Notley government’s Bill 6 in Alberta are drawing a lot of attention.

The top three stories on The Western Producer’s website over the last week are headlined, “More questions than answers following first Bill 6 public meeting,” “New farm worker safety rules to alter landscape in Alberta,” and “Anti-Bill 6 protests picking up steam.”

Those stories are also drawing online comments and have received major attention on social media. (There is a nicely written letter about the issue on page 12 today.)

Read Also

editorial cartoon

Proactive approach best bet with looming catastrophes

The Pan-Canadian Action Plan on African swine fever has been developed to avoid the worst case scenario — a total loss ofmarket access.

We have, at the Producer, encouraged some of these changes in the past, as other provinces have adopted them. But the speed at which they’re being implemented and the labour organization aspect of the NDP government’s plans are generating a lot of heat from farmers. As I write, Mary continues to send in updates about protests at the legislature and elsewhere in the province.

The government is motivated by reports that show there were 355 deaths in the agriculture industry from 1990 to 2009. (And as Mary’s story notes, for each death, 25 people were hospitalized for injury.)

As I’ve suggested in the past, it’s immoral to ignore that level of tragedy.

Still, it will be interesting to see if the implementation date is pushed back and whether the bill is altered in a meaningful way as a result of farmer feedback. (I suspect you’ll see both.)

Canadian Western Agribition has been around since 1971. You’d think after 45 years, some people might be jaded, but that’s not what I saw when I visited last week.

I saw a lot of energy in those who brought their cattle to the show and in those who wandered up and down the aisles.

I’m not sure what that says about the state of farming, given today’s prices, but it says a lot about the people who farm for a living. They’re still in it for the labour of love.

For those who missed Agribition, you can get a good flavour of the event at our blog, which features stories, videos, photos and tweets from those who attended. Find it at bit.ly/1LArr7r.

About the author

Brian MacLeod

Brian MacLeod

explore

Stories from our other publications