Ont. ag organization gearing up for winter policy tour

The CFFO’s first meeting falls on Jan. 25

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

An Ontario ag organization is preparing to meet with members of the ag community to find out which policy issues are of most importance.

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) kicks off its winter policy tour on Jan. 25 with members of its Grey-Bruce and Wentworth-Brant districts.

The CFFO will host virtual regional meetings throughout January and until February 24. The tour will wrap up on March 3 with an all-members meeting.

With the provincial election coming later this year, election issues will dominate the conversation, said Paul Bootsma, field service manager with CFFO.

“All elections are important, but by the time this one rolls around, we’re hopefully coming out of a pandemic,” he told Farms.com. “We’re asking our members to tell us what the Ontario government needs to hear from farmers. We’ve highlighted three areas that are big in the ag community right now.”

Those issues are food value chain workers, protecting farmland and energy needs & carbon pricing.

These areas, along with others, are important to Ontario’s post-COVID recovery, Bootsma said.

“We’ve got to keep the (ag) industry going,” he said. “Agriculture is in a position to help Ontario get back on its feet after the pandemic.”

Once all the meetings have taken place, CFFO will receive a detailed report which it will share with members.

The report is a good tool farmers can use when attending candidates meetings during the election campaign, Bootsma said.

“We hope the report will be finished some time in April, before the election is actually called,” he said. “That will give our members some information about what to talk about at candidates meetings and we’ll be looking for responses from candidates.”