For release: March 02, 2004

McGuinty Government Improves Farm Safety

TORONTO - The McGuinty government has improved safety for farmers and farm employees who work with liquid manure by amending Regulation 369 (RRO 1990) under the Farm Implements Act, Minister of Agriculture and Food Steve Peters announced today. The province will also maintain funding for farm safety education that will help to protect Ontario farmers, their families, and farm workers at current levels.

The amendments address a number of the recommendations made by a coroner's jury following an inquest into the deaths of three farm workers, who were exposed to hydrogen sulphide gas while operating a liquid manure spreader at a dairy farm near Drayton, Ontario in the summer of 2000.

"The Farm Safety Association and the farm machinery industry have been instrumental in making these important changes a reality," said Peters. "I would like to thank the jury for their recommendations and hard work on behalf of Ontario farmers."

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food provides $120,000 in annual funding to the Farm Safety Association (FSA). The FSA is the lead agency in Ontario for farm safety programs. It promotes safe, healthy workplaces and lifestyles for the agricultural, horticultural and landscaping industries in Ontario.

"We applaud the collaborative efforts between OMAF and the industry in amending these regulations," said Dean Anderson, President and CEO of the FSA. "The amendments will help make farms safer, and the government funding will help us to promote the important safety message to all farming operations in Ontario."

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BACKGROUNDER

FARM SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS IN ONTARIO

Following the deaths of three workers in a mobile liquid manure tank in August 2000, a coroner's jury made several recommendations in January, 2002, to improve the safety of farmers who work with liquid manure.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has responded to several of these recommendations by amending Regulation 369 (RRO) under the Farm Implements Act.

The amendments to the regulation require:

• all new and used liquid manure spreaders sold by farm equipment dealerships in Ontario be equipped with semi-permanent bars to deter entrance to the spreaders.
  
• all new and used liquid manure spreaders sold by farm equipment dealerships in Ontario have no internal ladders.
  
• the use of newly developed Canadian Standards Association approved warning decals on new and used liquid manure spreaders.
  
• warning signs be positioned on the front of spreader tanks and beside external ladders.
  
• liquid manure spreader manufacturers to provide a 'confined spaces' safety manual to dealers and have the dealers include it with operators' manuals at the point of sale of new and used liquid manure spreaders.

The Ontario government continues to provide $120,000 in annual funding to the Farm Safety Association (FSA) for educational programs. The FSA is the lead agency in Ontario for farm safety programs. It promotes safe, healthy workplaces and lifestyles for the agricultural, horticultural and landscaping industries in Ontario.

Media Contact:
Mary Devorski
Minister Peters' Office
(416) 326-3077 or
(416) 606-8303 (mobile)

Program Contact:
Finbar Desir
OMAF
519-826-3549

Farm Safety Association Inc.

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