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Home My WebLink About2020-05-14Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Members Present: Regrets Staff: Thursday, May 14, 2020 Eric Bowman Ted Watson Brenda Metcalf John Cartwright Tom Barrie Les Caswell Ben Eastman Henry Zekveld Councillor Zwart Jennifer Knox Don Rickard Richard Rekker Amy Burke and Faye Langmaid - Planning Services Guests: Mayor Foster; Kathy Macpherson and Anna Shortly, Greenbelt Foundation; Sheila Hall and Bonnie Wrightman, Clarington Board of Trade; Stacey Jibb and Allison Brown, Region of Durham Planning and Economic Development; Carolyn Puterbough, OMAFRA; Ron Albright, Clarington Engineering Services Due to COVID 19 restrictions and to ensure social distancing, participation in the meeting was electronic (using Microsoft Teams) and by conference call. Eric welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Declarations of pecuniary interest 1► rem Adoption of Agenda 020-11 Moved by John Cartwright, seconded by Les Caswell That the Agenda for May 14, 2020 be adopted. Carried Approval of Minutes 020-12 Moved by John Cartwright, seconded by Tom Barrie That the minutes of the April 9, 2020 meeting be approved. Carried Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington May 14, 2020 Presentation Kathy Macpherson, Greenbelt Foundation — Municipal Capacity to Support Agriculture - Kathy Macpherson, accompanied by Anna Shortly, introduced the Committee to a new research study that the Greenbelt Foundation has initiated in collaboration with Dr. Wayne Caldwell from the University of Guelph. The study seeks to understand and document the capacity and willingness of counties and regions from across the province to support agriculture and proactively address issues facing the sector. The study stemmed from research completed in 2018 examining the value of agricultural advisory committees, their challenges and successes. This research has found that dedicated, informed and supportive Staff and Council representatives are key to the success of agriculture advisory committees in general. The next phase of study involves online surveys of municipal Planners and municipal Councillors in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and follow-up interviews with municipal Planning staff. The study will look at a range of questions, such as: • How are municipalities currently supporting agriculture (e.g grants, committees, agriculture -focused events) • Who do Council members turn to for advice on agricultural matters? • What are the major agriculture issues dealt with by municipalities? • What is the capacity of municipalities to proactively engage the sector? • What support do members of Council and Staff need to better support the agricultural sector and who is most appropriate to provide that support? The resulting report will summarize the feedback received, identify education, training and other supports needed for municipal staff and Councillors to help in understanding agriculture decision making, and best practices for municipalities in planning for agriculture. Completion is targeted for late 2020. Feedback from the Committee members included a suggestion that farmers also be surveyed to gather their opinions on gaps in municipal capacity and understanding. MPP David Piccini (Northumberland — Peterborough South) — Postponed (date to be determined). Delegations None. Business Arising from Minutes Highway 407 Materials Clean-up: Blackbird Infrastructure and MTO have been notified of the concerns raised by the Committee and are working through a process of reviewing and removing all outstanding signage. Bowmanville REKO Network: Inaugural Bowmanville REKO network pick-up event held on May 14, 5:45 — 6:45pm at Garnet B. Rickard Recreation parking lot. A second, slightly different, online farmers market model has also been developed by Kendal Hills Farm. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington May 14, 2020 Correspondence, Council Items and Referrals None. Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: Meetings cancelled until further notice. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: No updates available. Durham Farm Connections: Program and event cancellations continue. Investigating changes to Celebrate Agriculture Gala format in response to COVID 19 measures. Clarington Board of Trade: CBOT continues to actively reach out to members / local businesses dealing with the impacts of COVID 19 and to raise awareness and understanding of Provincial and Federal resources. New Business Port of Oshawa — Agricultural Users Survey: A new grain export terminal opened at the Port of Oshawa in the fall of 2019. The Hamilton/Oshawa Port Authority is now developing a land use plan for the Port of Oshawa, to guide future development investments. The Port Authority is seeking feedback from grain producers in the Port's GTA-East catchment area through participation in the Port of Oshawa Agricultural Users Survey. Provincial Announcements of COVID 19 Support Programs: Over the past four to six weeks, multiple COVID 19 support/ response programs focused on the agricultural sector have been announced. Provincial announcements circulated to Committee members include the following: • Ontario Agri -Food Open for E-Business Initiative — Seeks to help food producers, farmers markets, retailers, garden centres, greenhouses, nurseries, and agricultural associations develop online business, providing customers with greater access to a wide variety of food and agriculture products. • Ontario Agri -Food Jobs Portal — A new web portal to connect workers with employers looking to fill positions in the agri-food sector. Ontario Agri -Food Workplace Protection Program (Phase 2 Intake) — The second intake of the Agri -food Workplace Protection Program seeks to help farmers enhance health and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID 19. The program offers funding support for initiatives like purchasing personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning and disinfection and redesigning workstations. Federal Agri -Food Industry COVID-19 Funding Announcement: On May 5, the Federal Government announced an investment of $252 million to support farmers, food businesses, and food processors who provide essential services by ensuring a safe and reliable food supply. Response to the federal announcement in the media indicated concern that the supports were falling short of what the agricultural sector needed. Some concerns were discussed by Committee members and included the opinion that Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington May 14, 2020 the importance of food security was being overlooked; labour shortages are further challenged by government payouts to students; and the essential service that Canada's few cattle processing plants provide is not appropriately protected. Municipal Comments on Region of Durham Pre -Sort and Anaerobic Digestion Facility: Clarification was requested with respect to the resolution passed by Council declaring Clarington as an unwilling host for the Facility. Concerns raised in Report PSD-013-20, informed Council's decision on the matter. The staff report focused on the siting location recommending the Facility be located next to the EFW. The report focussed on the Pre-sort/AD compatibility with the prestige employment vision of Clarington's Energy Business Park and the long-term vision for development of the Courtice Waterfront Area. The staff report did not comment on the choice of the AD as a technology to address organic waste. On -Farm Special Events By-law: Clerks Department will soon be reaching out to the representatives who volunteered to participate in a working group. The committee terms of reference outlines that issues are to be addressed in general, not for specific sites. Share your COVID-19 Story: In order to document the effects of COVID-19 on the community, the Clarington Museum and Archives is running a survey to collect information and stories about the experience to help educate future historians. Participate in the survey at www.claringtonmuseums.com and submit photos, letters and other items to info .claringtonmuseums.com. Next Meeting Thursday, June, 2020 @ 7:30 pm To be determined Future Agendas: Michael Longarini, Bowmanville REKO Network and Kendal Hills Farm, Virtual Farmers Market Pat Learmonth, Farms at Work Philip Lawrence, MP, Northumberland -Peterborough South Hon. Erin O'Toole, MP, Durham Region of Durham Works re: 2020 capital projects Clarington Engineering Services (Building Division) re: National Building Code changes for farm structures anticipated for 2020 (once the changes have been confirmed) Brianna Ames of Fairlife (Coca-Cola) Simon Gill, Durham Region Economic Development & Tourism re: an update on the Durham Region Agricultural Strategy and Durham Region Broadband Strategy Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington May 14, 2020