As we leave summer behind us, September means full-blown harvest mode for most fruit and vegetable growers. The last few months have been busy on our farms, and in our orchards, vineyards and greenhouses – and although we’ve been busy farming, the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) has also been active on the advocacy front.
Some issues in our sector are big and attention-getting — such as protecting the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program or pushing back on costly trade barriers — because they have such far-reaching and dramatic impacts on our businesses. Others aren’t as directly significant, but they still affect our ability to farm successfully. That’s why our advocacy is multi-faceted and as board and staff, we’re involved in continuous and often behind-the-scenes work to keep decision-makers aware of our sector’s needs.
We came through both a provincial and a federal election this year and we’ve been busy connecting with new ministers to ensure they and their teams know our sector and what our needs are. That includes attending special events such as funding announcements where we have unique opportunities to speak face to face with ministers and MPPs outside of an office or meeting room. These are in addition to our regular advocacy events, such as our Queen’s Park Day every fall, where we engage broadly with MPPs and their staff from all major parties.
A major opportunity for government relations comes every summer in the form of preparation for the meetings of federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) ministers of agriculture. This year, the event was set for Winnipeg in July but moved online at the last minute due to forest fires in Manitoba. An in-person gathering has been rescheduled for September.
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