More than a year after the passage of Bill 6 - the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act - much uncertainty remains around the controversial legislation, says Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper.
"Bill 6 passed over a year ago and the regulations have yet to be seen," Cooper told the Gazette. "So one of the big challenges that that creates is uncertainty.
"Farmers, ranchers, producers, family farms, still don't have a clear picture of what the full implementation of Bill 6 will be."
The legislation brings farms and farm workers under Occupational Health and Safety regulations. It has already passed third reading.
The government says the legislation will improve protection for workers on farms and ranches.
Six technical working groups are currently developing recommendations on how employment standards and labour relations will apply to agriculture producers under the legislation.
The six groups are focusing on the employment standards code, labour relations code, and specific aspects of Occupational Health and Safety.
Mountain View County councillor Al Kemmere is on one of the six working groups. His group is examining safety codes.
"We've met eight times and we are slowing making our way through the process," said Kemmere. "The big question will be what will be done with the recommendations.
"We've got another meeting next week so we will probably be getting close to having our recommendations as a final package."
Asked if he feels the process has been unduly delayed, he said, "I think in our situation we have not been pressured to do it too fast. We've asked for time to be able to analyze things well and chair has done a great job making sure we've had every opportunity we need to talk.
"I won't say anybody has been slowing anything down on our end at all. It's a process we need to go through."
Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier recently said he expects reports from the groups sometime in spring 2017.
"Early on we were looking for some draft recommendations by the end of the year, but honestly, if they need to take a few more months, we're going to give them that leeway," Carlier reportedly said.
"We know we can make workplaces safer. We've seen the rates of farm fatalities and serious injuries go down when laws to protect farm and ranch employees were introduced in other jurisdictions. Legislation works."
The working groups will "provide input from a broad and diverse range of voices from the farming and ranching sector," he said.
For his part, MLA Cooper says the NDP government is responsible for any uncertainty surrounding the legislation.
"This is one of the things that was so frustrating last year at this time," said Cooper. "If they had done this work that they're currently doing prior to the passage of the bill, it's quite likely that it would have been much less controversial, would have provided certainty earlier.
"And now, the government - as they've done on so many other files - sort of act now and sort the consequences out later - it's the exact same position that we're in with Bill 6."
The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act has the support of the majority of Albertans, Premier Rachel Notley says.
"Farmers, ranchers, producers, family farms, still don't have a clear picture of what the full implementation of Bill 6 will be."Nathan CooperOlds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose MLA
