Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-12-10 Minutes Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting th Thursday, December 10, 2015 Members Present: Elgin Greenham Brenda Metcalf Les Caswell Mary Ann Found Jenni Knox Henry Zekveld Tom Barrie Eric Bowman Ted Watson John Cartwright Don Rickard (left at 8:00) Regrets: Councillor Partner Guests: Sara Monuz, Inspector for Investigations SPCA; Curry Clifford, CAO office Staff: Faye Langmaid Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 015-25 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by Eric Bowman th “That the Agenda for December 10, 2015 be adopted” Carried Approval of Minutes 015-26 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by John Cartwright th “That the minutes of the November 12, 2015 meeting be approved” Carried GO Train Don Rickard and Chair of the Clarington Board of Trade (CBOT) and Curry Clifford as representative of the Municipality’s efforts to secure a commitment from the Provincial Government to bring the GO Train to Clarington (stations in Courtice and Bowmanville) spoke to the resolution that had been circulated to the Committee. Curry has been working CBOT surrounding municipalities and many other agencies on bringing together support for the GO Train. There is also an economic study occurring that will support the request. Clarington Council has identified the expansion of GO services and transit in general as a major initiative for this term of Council. GO carried out an Environmental Assessment about track alignment, station locations and interconnections with Regional Transit in 2010 but has not committed the funds to implementing the recommendations. After a questions and answer session Don and Curry left the meeting to attend a CBOT function. The committee after further discussion later in the meeting passed the following resolution: 015-27 Moved by Tom Barrie, seconded by Ted Watson “Whereas the Municipality of Clarington is seeking to assist the provincial government to realize its objective of transit oriented development, and Whereas a key means of achieving this objective is the extension of GO Train service to Bowmanville, and Whereas achieving this objective serves to significantly advance the objective of preserving farmland, another key provincial and local objective Therefore be it resolved that: The Agriculture Advisory Committee of Clarington, recognizing a strong alignment between our objective of retaining the very productive farmland that surrounds the urban areas in Clarington with the objectives of the Municipality of Clarington Council, its neighbouring municipalities, the Durham Youth Council, Durham post- secondary educational institutions and the business community to extend GO Train service to Bowmanville as set out in the 2010 approved Environmental Assessment, hereby urges Clarington Council pursue with the Province of Ontario the extension of GO Train service to Bowmanville.” CARRIED Sara Munoz, Inspector for Investigations with SPCA Sara provided an overview of the governance, legislation, role, and funding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SPCA is a not-for-profit, charitable organization partially funded by the Provincial Government (12% for investigations). Investigations relate to the prevention of cruelty to animals and the promotion of animal welfare. Sara provided a definition for the difference between animal welfare and animal rights. SPCA investigations are complaint driven. The process for a complaint is outlined in attachment 1. There are two livestock investigators for Ontario, they are trained for enforcement of the SPCA Act and to recognize an animal is distress. Training is at the University of Guelph. There are 6-7 sub livestock officers who address hobby farms. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonDecember 10, 2015 A recent development, over the last couple of years, is the liaison with commodity groups and Memorandum’s of Understanding that the SPCA has with different commodity groups. It is now typical that a representative of the commodity group will attend with the SPCA investigator as the purpose is education before enforcement. When visiting a farm all bio-security precautions are followed. Transportation of animals is addressed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency not the SPCA. Charges laid under the SPCA Act go into the Court system, with restitution to SPCA for work done (housing of animals off site) but not for the investigation or prosecution. For SPCA Certification has been developed and administered by the British Columbia SPCA. Sara provided a handout on the process for certification, including the membership fees, etc. The certification is a “beyond codes of practice” measure that can be used for marketing much like “certified organic” or other similar certifications. A number of the very large food industry buyers are beginning to look for these types of certifications or “traceability” to the source of the product. The only farm in Ontario currently certified by SPCA is near Keene. The certification works with the practices already occurring on the farm and is a point system. Points are assigned for different animal welfare factors and then a score tallied. There is no prescribed way of sheltering, disease control, feeding, etc. rather it is a cumulative way of recognizing excellence in animal welfare. The committee thanked Sara for her excellent presentation. The one message they would like her to carry back to her managers is that it would be helpful for SPCA to provide more education and particularly for complainant. This would be a benefit to the agricultural community as many do not understand “normal farm practices” and animal welfare, rather it is being viewed through the lens of animal rights and anthropomorphism. Business Arising from Minutes st Tour of Colborne processing facility – CBOT arranged a tour on December 1. Those in attendance found the tour very useful and learned a great deal from Joe Mullin the Facility manager. The facility is for rent to any one that wishes to carryout value-added activities. They have sterile kitchen facilities and staff, lab facilities (for nutritional analysis), package, flash freezing, labelling and assistance with graphic design. Everything needed to get you to market with value-added products and build a business case for manufacturing of your product. Parade of Lights –Parade attendance was outstanding. One issue was a health incident and that the paramedics and ambulance had to get through which delayed the parade. Eric will have a debriefing meeting with Police and see what improvements and crowd control can be implemented. Agri-Tourism- Sub-committee on Agri-tourism has met and will report back at January meeting. Minutes of sub-committee meeting will be circulated with the agenda. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonDecember 10, 2015 Correspondence, etc. Greenbelt Panel Review and public consultation report was e-mailed to all members. Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee–no report Durham Region Federation of Agriculture –Farm Connections, 21 schools have th registered. High School program is scheduled for March 9. Looking for volunteers. Applications for the education trailer have been submitted to Greenbelt Foundation. Farm Connections is proceeding for elementary schools in the April, the high school program has been rescheduled to March. Clarington Board of Trade – nothing further Other Business “did you know” - at each meeting that committee members will select an item to circulate to their colleagues (agriculture community contacts) to help spread the word. For this meeting Faye will circulate the presentation by SPCA so that you can forward to others. Future Agendas Faye has contacted Kim Rudd, new MP (for Ward 4 area of Clarington) and Erin O’Toole, Lizzie Clarke from the Greenbelt Foundation. Felt that she could not add anymore than what we had already learned from Kathy MacPherson (who attended earlier this year). Durham Farm Fresh was suggested. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn Next Meeting, January 14th, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office Ken Towle and Mark Peacock from Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority regarding invasive species. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonDecember 10, 2015