Labour Protection for Paid Farm Workers (November 24)
Ms Pastoor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, a full year since the farm safety record report was completed, its release yesterday came with an announcement of yet another round of consultations but no action to give paid farm workers rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act or to provide paid farm workers with mandatory WCB coverage.
To the minister of agriculture: why does the minister continue to allow paid farm workers to be refused the same rights as other workers in Alberta, and has he spoken to his colleague the Minister of Employment and Immigration?
The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mr. Hayden: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, what’s happened with this report’s release is that it’s pointed out what the industry itself has asked for. The industry itself has asked for a farm safety council so that they can determine their own future, which I think is important. This government is interested in saving lives, not complicating them like members on the opposite side.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Pastoor: Thank you. I will direct my next question to the Minister of Employment and Immigration. Given that Alberta could easily be faced with condemnation from the United Nations International Labour Organization for breaking international law, as Ontario was last week, will the minister amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include paid farm workers?
Mr. Lukaszuk: Mr. Speaker, quite to the contrary. Alberta is encouraging, actually, our federal government to become a signatory to the international convention because we are so confident that our standards are not only adequate to meet the international criteria, but we by far exceed them. So we want to partake in that. I have to tell you that the best solutions will come always from the industry, that is aware of what they’re doing, and that is why I believe the minister of agriculture is doing the right thing, asking farmers what is good for farmers.
Ms Pastoor: To the same minister: when the minister publicly stated that more substance needs to be added to the government’s safety strategy for all workers, why does the minister continue to refuse to include paid farm workers?
Mr. Lukaszuk: Mr. Speaker, all Albertans know that the majority of farms in Alberta, even though incorporated, are still family farms.
By virtue of that, they are very unique workplaces because they’re not only workplaces, but they’re also places where people live and enjoy their lives. The fact is that the protocol that has been put in place will be consulting with farmers, those who actually live and produce. They will make sure that they are safe on farms, and they will tell us how to achieve that.
Alberta Hansard, November 24, 2010