Thousands of acres of fruit land are at risk

A recent forecast by the Bank of Nova Scotia stated Ontario is the only province that will not experience economic growth this year. Every other province will grow its economy, leaving us further behind.

Locally, we have seen the economic devastation that inaction by government has created in the areas of beef, hogs, horticulture, tobacco, and the on-going paralysis with the land dispute file.

One case in point is the loss of processing plants for farmers growing peaches, pears, grapes and cherries. Ontario’s, and in particular Niagara’s, tender fruit and grape growing capacity is a national treasure but the Ontario government is placing thousands of acres of farmland at risk.

About 6,000 acres of tender fruit land has been affected by the closure of Cherry Lane Frozen Fruit, Cadbury-Schweppes and CanGro Foods Inc., all of which were major processors in the Niagara area. Further, growers are also dealing with: the competition of subsidized growers from abroad; minimum wage hikes; red tape and higher industry standards.

Without a plan to address these issues, there is risk that thousands of acres of formerly productive tender fruit and grape lands will continue to go out of production.

With the passage of the Greenbelt Act in 2005, the government has forgotten that if you want to save the farmland, save the farmer. While the government attempts to protect farmland, it has failed to develop an economic plan to ensure farmers will remain productive.

I credit my colleague Tim Hudak, MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook, for his report on Ontario’s tender fruit and grape growers titled: Where do we grow from here? I join MPP Hudak to offer ideas that would help the tender fruit and grape industry rebound. Some of the solutions include:

• A replant program which will renew orchards and vineyards allowing farmers to produce better quality fruits and grape varieties. Ontario is the only major grape and tender fruit province in Canada that does not have a replant program.
  
  
• Growers need relief from the steep tax burden. Therefore, the Ontario Government should amend the Ontario Assessment Act to rid the tax penalty on value added production.
  
  
• The Opposition proposed a Buy Ontario Policy which should be adopted by the province. It would see provincial ministries, hospitals, schools and long-term care homes purchase Ontario-grown fruit, vegetables and meat.
  
  
• The province should permit private retail stores that specialize in Ontario VQA wine.

Locally, we recall Chuck Emre, a local asparagus grower, being told by the province to remove his signs from the side of the road. I support Ernie Hardeman’s private member’s bill to allow farmers to post seasonal directional signage on private property adjacent to a provincial highway.

These are just a few of the ideas that my colleagues and I have gathered from farmers, industry organizations, municipal leaders and concerned residents.

We need a plan – a plan that details the challenges the industry is facing, takes a look at programs implemented by the federal and other provincial governments, and makes recommendations to help revitalize the tender fruit and grape industries.

In the meantime it is vital that we all do our part to propose solutions that will off-set declines created by poor policy. Like in Niagara, we have treasures worth saving across Haldimand-Norfolk and beyond.