The Huffington Post Alberta  |  By Sarah Rieger

Posted: 12/16/2015 2:29 pm EST Updated: 12/16/2015 2:59 pm EST

Bill 6 may have passed, but debates on the controversial farm safety bill are far from over.

On Tuesday, nearly 300 people gathered on the snowy steps of the Alberta legislature to protest the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers legislation.

“It’s not even about the bill anymore. It’s about the Alberta advantage. Where did we lose track of that along the way?” rancher Kim Keely told the Edmonton Journal. “Everybody knew safety legislation was coming, but nobody asked us what we thought about it.”

Another day, another #Bill6 rally. #yeg #abag #ableg pic.twitter.com/aQhOIqqWVc

— Ted Bauer (@tedgbauer) December 15, 2015

Rural Albertans have been afraid the bill, which passed its third reading in the legislature on Thursday, will threaten family farms by forcing them to buy expensive insurance to cover children and volunteers.

Premier Rachel Notley says she’s willing to accept full responsibility for the anger over the bill, and acknowledged that her government needs to mend some fences with rural Albertans.

“We have to take responsibility ourselves for the fact that we created a certain amount of confusion in how we originally communicated and we allowed families to be in a position where they were worrying about what the impact of these changes would be on their family farm,” Notley told the Calgary Herald.

The government says that the bill was intended to offer workers’ compensation benefits and occupational health and safety rules for only paid farm employees, and that coverage for family members and volunteers would be optional.

However, that messaging hasn’t been consistent. When the bill was announced, as well as in a Workers Compensation Board (WCB) document released a few weeks later, the government said farm volunteers and children would be subject to the same rules and coverage.

“We have to take responsibility ourselves for the fact that we created a certain amount of confusion in how we originally communicated.”

Amendments were later added to make the legislation more clear, but the damage from poor communication was already done.

Wildrose labour critic Grant Hunter told CBC News he feels as if the NDP was making up the details of the bill as they went along.

“When you read it, it’s fairly clear what their intent was,” Hunter said of the initially misleading WCB document.

The bill is set to become law on Jan. 1, but farmers and ranchers continue to voice their opposition, including at a town hall meeting in Coaldale on Tuesday.

“There’s not a lot we can do now that the bill has passed. However, we can be in control of some of the regulations that they make with it,” rancher Jean Minchau said in an interview with Global News.

.@PatStier_WR encourages to continue to pressure AB gov’t by writing letters, making their voices heard. #yql #bill6 pic.twitter.com/VohtS6lF9X

— Sarolta Saskiw (@ssaskiw) December 16, 2015

RealAgriculture News Team December 14, 2015 Canadian Agriculture Policy, Farm Management, Western Canada, Ag Policy, Human Resources, News, Bill 6 – Enhancement of Protection of Farm and Ranch Workers

Posted Dec. 10th, 2015 by Saskatoon newsroom

Bill 6 protestors on horseback in Leduc. | Mary MacArthur photo

UPDATED: December 18, 2015 – 1200CST – Farmers drove their trucks down highways, parked their tractors outside meeting halls, carried signs on pitchforks, created Facebook pages and presented more than 22,000 signatures in the legislature, all in an effort to kill a controversial Alberta farm worker bill. (Full story is here, or scroll down)

Side view of #bill6 rally in Leduc pic.twitter.com/qi5Gbd0ciP

— Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 7, 2015

Horses and rider at #bill6 rally in Leduc pic.twitter.com/SGHb91w4C9 — Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 7, 2015

Convoy of grain truck arrive at Leduc #bill6 meeting. pic.twitter.com/qsbWhUzCFZ

— Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 7, 2015

The Alberta government’s proposed changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Bill 6, continues to rile farmers. You can find all The Western Producer’s coverage of this controversial proposed legislation below.

Healthiest option to elevate blood pressure in Leduc… #bill6 https://t.co/4356fbhlJD — The Western Producer (@westernproducer) December 7, 2015

East bound and town from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge. #Bill6 convoy on its ways. #killbill6 #ableg #wrp #ndp pic.twitter.com/LrMa4j8Sng

— Lori Creech Loree (@loricreech) December 3, 2015

One farm death is one death too many, said @oneilcarlier. OHS should investigate to prevent further accidents. — Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 1, 2015

Video pic.twitter.com/zBDvHo0i9B

— Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 1, 2015

The ministers and MLAs ready to talk at #Bill6 meeting. pic.twitter.com/DNw4aYoBu2 — Mary MacArthur (@marymacarthur) December 1, 2015

Stories:

Bill 6 passes: anger ‘all out of proportion’
– Farmers drove their trucks down highways, parked their tractors outside meeting halls, carried signs on pitchforks, created Facebook pages and presented more than 22,000 signatures in the legislature, all in an effort to kill a controversial Alberta farm worker bill.

Alberta NDP gov’t passes Bill 6
– Alberta’s controversial farm safety legislation debate ended as the government majority passed Bill 6. The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act passed third reading today 44-20.

Government must stop Bill 6 until consultation complete
– Alberta’s NDP government has bungled Bill 6. The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act has galvanized agriculture into unprecedented opposition, and with good reason.

Farm groups speak out on Alberta’s Bill 6, Alberta’s proposed farm labour changes
– Many agricultural and rural groups in Alberta have issued public responses to Bill 6, the Alberta government’s Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act. Here is a summary of their views.

What the other provinces are doing about farm worker safety
– Alberta’s Bill 6 plans to eliminate the farm exemptions on the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Workers Compensation, Labour Relations and Employment Standards. Legislation in the other western provinces varies when it comes to coverage and exemptions for farmers and farm workers.

Lethbridge farmers challenge Bill 6 – About 750 farmers rallied in Lethbridge today and they didn’t get what they wanted. They wanted the Alberta government to “kill Bill 6”, according to the many placards stuck to vehicles and held aloft.

‘We will pass this bill this fall’: Notley – Alberta premier Rachel Notley is pushing ahead with Bill 6 despite protests across the province to delay or kill the farm safety bill.

Alberta exempts Hutterites from Bill 6 – RED DEER — In a complete reversal, the Alberta government has announced it will exempt Hutterite colonies and their 22,000 members from mandatory Workers Compensation Board and Occupational Health and Safety coverage.

Alta. vows to amend Bill 6; farmers not satisfied – RED DEER — A clarification of farm safety rules by the minister of agriculture did little to quell the unhappiness of 500 angry farmers at a consultation meeting.

Alta. farmers protest Bill 6 – EDMONTON — Protests against Alberta farm worker legislation keep building momentum.

Slow down Bill 6, say farmers – GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — Almost 400 angry farmers sent a clear message to the Alberta government last week: they don’t want the new farm safety legislation and they believe it is being rushed through without consultation.

Alberta Hutterite colonies want exemption from farm worker compensation bill – GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — Mandatory workers compensation premiums would cost Alberta Hutterite colonies more than $22 million a year, said the Hutterite business adviser with accounting firm MNP.

New farm worker safety rules to alter landscape in Alberta – GIBBONS, Alta. — Sweeping changes to work and safety rules for Alberta’s farms and ranches have generated concern among those in farming.

First farmer speaker. We don’t like you. We don’t like your Bill. We don’t trust you he says. #westcdnag

— Barb Glen (@BarbGlen) December 3, 2015

By Rick Bell, Calgary Sun

First posted: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 09:05 PM MST | Updated: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 08:01 AM MST

People hold signs protesting Bill 6 in a meeting with provincial Labour Minister Lori Sigurdson and Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier in Okotoks December 2, 2015. Alberta’s government will retool a bill that would overhaul workplace standards on farms in Canada’s biggest cattle-producing province, its agriculture minister said, after protests by farmers and ranchers. (REUTERS/Mike Sturk
)

It is a day where the events type out the story on the keyboard all by themselves.

It is a day where the Notley NDP government clearly has had enough of the bare-knuckles brawling, the political temperature ever rising as the aggravation intensifies.

They want to get what they need done, they want it done pronto and then they want to high-tail it out of Dodge for a Yuletide reprieve.

So it goes. On Tuesday they serve notice. Debate on Bill 6, the NDP’s farm bill, will end sooner rather than later, likely by Thursday.

The opposition is steamed but the NDP don’t care. They hold the hammer and the atmosphere is already ugly.

“We’re not ramming it through and declaring victory,” says Brian Mason, the NDP’s legislature quarterback.

“The rights of working people have to be protected.”

Greg Clark, leader of the Alberta party, offers words of caution.

“It creates headlines you don’t want,” says Clark, of the move.

They’ve already had plenty of headlines they don’t want. They’re used to it.

Yes, Tuesday is a day where Mason loses his temper and calls Wildrosers “goons” and “a bunch of gangsters” before apologizing and withdrawing the colourful lingo.

The veteran of many a political war proceeds to paint the Wildrosers as “a solid wall of noise” behaving in a way that’s “nothing more than an attempt to prevent ministers from answering properly.”

Mason adds it is “interfering with our ability to perform our jobs.”

Ric McIver, the PC’s interim leader, is no slouch when it comes to giving it back to the NDPers, talking about a “little bit of gamesmanship going on here.”

He actually refers to Danielle Larivee, the NDP municipal affairs minister.

McIver says she turned around in her legislature seat, taunting people sitting in the legislature gallery and supporting the opposition’s position.

“I would definitely say that qualifies as language designed to incite, likely to create disorder.

“Congratulations, minister. You wanted to create a ruckus and the minister created a ruckus.”

McIver goes further.

“The government can get their feelings hurt but I hope they didn’t expect to be here and not be held to account by the opposition,” he says.

“We have limited tools and one of the tools we have is to bang and make noise.

“If people are concerned about having their feelings hurt they might be sitting in the wrong room.”

Oh, it is quite the day.

It is the day where the Wildrose want the legislature to hold an emergency debate on “the bleak fiscal picture many Albertans are facing.”

Wildrose leader Brian Jean speaks of the human costs of the economic downturn, from drug use to suicides to bankruptcies and individuals losing jobs and “gripped with a sense of self-doubt and hopelessness.”

McIver supports having the debate and thinks it’s “made all the more urgent” by the NDP limiting discussion on Bill 6.

Once the legislature sitting is done politicians won’t get another chance to jaw over the issue until well into the new year.

The NDP believe it’s just a Wildrose stunt to keep the legislature sitting and the government as a punching bag. So it’s a no-go.

It is one heck of a day.

Wildroser Jason Nixon, representing the good people of Sundre and Bentley, is far from amused with the NDP closing down the amount of to-and-fro over Bill 6.

“Our constituents are asking us to stand up and speak,” says Nixon.

“I think the government is running scared. They’re doing this because they screwed up on Bill 6 so bad. And it’s their fault not the fault of the people of Alberta.”

He then mentions two women in a farm group from the Nanton area in southern Alberta.

Nixon saw them sitting in the legislature gallery, looking down at the action on the legislature floor.

“They were crying in the gallery. That’s how upset they were about what is going on. They’d driven here all the way from Nanton and they were crying.”

[email protected]

Emily Chan, CTVNews.ca
Published Tuesday, December 8, 2015 12:09PM EST

Alberta’s NDP government has announced new amendments to its controversial proposed farm safety legislation, Bill 6.

Under the amended act, farms with one or more paid employees would have to provide workers’ compensation benefits and apply occupational health and safety rules.

However, family farms without paid workers will be exempt.

Photos

Farmer and farm families gather at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. (Dean Bennett/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

“Unpaid farm and ranch workers, such as relatives, friends and neighbours helping out on the family farm, will not be affected,” the government website now says.

The government announced the changes on Monday afternoon, saying the amendments help clarify the original purpose of the bill.

“This was our intent all along,” said Lori Sigurdson, Alberta’s minister of jobs, skills, training and labour.

Sigurdson said there was a “miscommunication” when the NDP first proposed the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act on Nov. 17. At that time, it appeared that the bill would also apply to family members and volunteers.

“When the miscommunication came out it did take some time for us to get that clarity,” Sigurdson said.

According to the government, “Alberta offers less protection for farm and ranch employees than any other jurisdiction in Canada,” and Bill 6 is designed to bring the province in line with national safety standards.

If passed, the bill will go into effect on Jan. 1.

But critics are trying to stop that, saying the proposed legislation threatens to destroy traditional family farms and agricultural lifestyles.

In recent weeks, thousands of protesters organized and attended rallies against the legislation.

“They’re basically saying ‘Trust us, we are from the government, we’ll help you,” Farmer Erin Wall told CTV Edmonton at one protest. “But we don’t want their help.”

Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean has been outspoken against bill, speaking at rallies and calling on the government to kill the act.

And Alberta’s interim Progressive Conservative leader Ric McIvor has also been critical of the proposed law.

The former PC government, led by Alison Redford, also promised to bring in safety regulations. But McIvor says the NDP government failed to properly consult farmers about the proposed rules.

On Monday, he said the NDP’s recent amendments merely add “confusion” to the debate.

That same day, unions moved to back the bill, calling it a step in the right direction.

Speaking at a news conference to commemorate the 112 workers who have died on Alberta farms since 2009, the head of the Alberta Federation of Labour gave Bill 6 his support.

“It is really about removing the exemptions in law that have denied Alberta’s 50,000 agricultural workers the same kind of rights and basic freedoms in the work place that other Albertans take for granted every day,” Gil McGowan, the association head, said.

With files from CTV Edmonton and the Canadian Press

Owner says she was just trying to capture how Alberta farmers are feeling right now

By The Calgary Eyeopener, CBC News Posted: Dec 08, 2015 2:08 PM MT Last Updated: Dec 08, 2015 2:08 PM MT

The happy barn near Cayley, Alta. is now a sad barn. (Kylana Rogers-Hambling/Facebook)

Happy face barn wears a Bill 6 frown 7:06

Related Stories

• Rachel Notley pens Bill 6 letter to Albertans on Facebook

A southern Alberta barn that has been smiling at drivers for more than 30 years as they pass the hamlet of Cayley, Alta., has been feeling a bit down lately.

Last week the owner wiped the grin off the famous Highway 2 landmark and replaced it with a frown in protest of the NDP’s proposed farm safety legislation.

“We thought, ‘Wouldn’t that just capture how farmers and ranchers feel right now?’ I couldn’t think of a better landmark to kind of represent them and their feelings toward Bill 6,” said Kylana Hambling.

She and her brother made the change to the barn before attending a farm protest in Okotoks on Dec. 2.

• Bill 6 protest near Nanton joins 1,000-strong demonstration at Alberta Legislature
• Farm death was ‘terrible learning experience,’ inquiry says

Bill 6, which comes into effect Jan. 1, will force farms and ranches to provide their employees minimum wage, vacation pay and injury compensation benefits.

Workers will also have Occupational Health and Safety protection — a right already held by agricultural employees in every other province in Canada.

An anti-Bill 6 sign in the field next to the landmark happy face barn off Hwy. 2 near Cayley, Alta. (Kylana Rogers-Hambling/Facebook)

The legislation exempts family members, whether they are paid for farm work or not. Neighbours who come to the farm to help are also exempt.

Hambling says the law, as it’s written now, means she probably won’t be able to employ her hired man next year and believes many other farmers will be in the same position.

“We just feel it’s been too fast. We’d like to see an opportunity for all of us to consult on it and be part of a really good stakeholder group with government officials and agricultural representation and then we could really make it work for us,” she said.

“You can tell by the back-peddling, and the trying to make amendments really fast before they push it through — it just shows it’s not ready. And we would just really like that opportunity to help them with that.”

Hambling says the smile on the barn was originally put up by a previous owner, who kept horses and ran the Happy Face Equestrian Barn.

She says she’s been getting plenty of emails from people asking her if she will ever turn the frown upside down again.

The answer is yes. The happy face barn will be back — right after Christmas.