Bill 6 Coming To A Farm Near You

On December 10, 2015 despite much protesting by Alberta farmers and ranchers, Bill 6 – known as The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act was passed and went into effect on January 1, 2016 but will apply only to farm and ranch operations that employ paid workers. They won’t apply to owners or family members of owners, which was how this came across when first announced but Premiere Notley quickly clarified and admitted that the roll out of this information may have caused some confusion.
According to the Alberta Government, here is what changes came into play on January 1st:
Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) insurance coverage is required for paid workers. These workers will be covered under WCB as of January 1. Employers will have until April 30 to register with WCB. They will also have the option to purchase insurance to cover family members and unpaid workers.
Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) basic safety standards will apply to paid workers while they’re onsite:
• Employers must take reasonable steps to provide a safe and healthy workplace
• Workers will be able to refuse unsafe work that presents an imminent danger
• OHS will be able to investigate serious injuries and fatalities
• Farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders will then be consulted on the following:
Detailed OHS technical standards specific to the farm and ranch industry will be developed or amended over the next 18 months.
Employment Standards and Labour Relations codes will be developed after consultations with industry. Farm and ranch operations maintain their current exemptions until the new regulations are proclaimed.
Alberta farm and ranch producers with paid employees who are not the owner or related to the owner will be affected by Bill 6. This means that family members can continue to participate in farming operations as they always have, and neighbours can still volunteer to help each other out.
Who’s not affected by Bill 6 is farm families who do not have waged workers, unpaid farm and ranch workers, such as relatives, friends and neighbours helping out on the family farm and children doing chores or participating in 4-H.
Bill 6 also doesn’t apply to recreational activities, such as hunting on farmland.
The NDP Government states that “The Government created the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act to bring the protection and compensation of non-family farm and ranch employees in line with what’s already extended to other employees and similar to what’s in place in other provinces, where family farms continue to thrive. Legislation can make a difference. Since laws to protect farm and ranch employees were introduced in British Columbia, the farm fatality rate was reduced by 68%, the farm injury rate was reduced by 52%, and the serious injury rate was reduced by 41%. We can make workplaces safer. We’re working with farmers, ranchers and industry representatives to ensure we find the right balance between safety and the unique needs of the farm and ranch industry’.
In the weeks leading up to that early December decision, protests, town hall meetings and other demonstrations could be found happening all over our province. Farmers and ranchers from across Alberta will livid with this decision saying that no one bothered to consult with the farming community before making such a drastic change to how they operate their daily businesses – that many feel had been operating just fine for many many years.
For full details on the breakdown of what farmers and ranchers are now expected to comply to, you can visit www.alberta.ca/farm-and-ranch.cfm