Policy Update –Local Food Act may create additional municipal
reporting requirements
A provincial bill to promote local food has laudable goals, but AMO
is cautioning the Province about how it could add to municipal reporting
requirements and reach outside of municipal governments’ roles and
responsibilities.
Bill 130, known in short
as the Promoting Local Food Act, 2012, was
introduced on October 4th by Minister Ted McMeekin, Minister of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The
draft legislation would allow the Minister, after consultation, to establish
aspirational goals or targets regarding local food. Under the proposed legislation, the Minister
may require a public sector organization – a municipality, hospital, long-term
care home, school, college or university, etc. - to provide information
related
to increasing awareness, access and sales of local food. This may include
providing information to assist in:
·
Establishing a goal or target or determining the actions required
to meet a goal or target;
·
Understanding the steps being taken to meet a goal or target;
or
·
Assessing the progress toward meeting a goal or
target.
*****************
The above is copied from an AMO bulletin
Bob Rae was being interviewed last night on the news. He was talking about Dalton McGuinty's resigation .
In the course of the discussion he stated the vast majority of the provincial government's budget is salaries. There is no othjer place to look when the need is to cut costs.
The same thing applies to most government budgets.
We do not manufacture products . We provide service.
Service equates to manpower.
When he inherited a deficit, Mr. Rae decided the best thing to do, in order to save jobs, was to ask the public service to take days off without pay.
His virtuous intent was misunderstood. The work force rose up in outrage and sent him packing.
Mr. Rae and Dalton Mc Guinty's shared the same problem. They recognized the same solution. But they went about it in a different way.
With the same reaction from the work force.
So what is the answer.
I would refer the reader to the bulletin from AMO about Bill 130;
I suggest it took a whole team of workers scurrying back and forth to come up with Bill 130.
AMO warns it wil lead to more requirement for reporting at the municipal level.
That would naturaully mean more works. More employees.
I read the goal set by the Minister.
Frankly, I can't make head nor tail of it.
Except for one thing. It will add to payroll costs.
Even as the government is looking for ways to cut payroll costs.
Where's the logic.
Is the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs not pat of the same government looking for ways to cut costs.
Or is he just looking for ways to justify his own job?
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3 comments:
All legislation, proposed or en route, will be shelved including Minister McMeekin's draft. So whatever reasons he might have had are now moot.
Every time someone wants more of something, in this case information relating to the source, condition and health of locally produced foodstuffs, bodies have to be hired to investigate and record this. So the provincial government's operating cost goes up.
It makes no difference what party the government represents, the cost will go up.
Health and Education are the two largest costs to the province. Hundreds of thousands of jobs exist.
Does the government lay off teachers and health workers, as was the case in the 'common sense revolution' of a premier to be unnamed, followed by a substantial collapse in both schools and education?
I would suggest it is in the area of infrastructure that significant savings could be achieved, infrastructure that is falling down around us every day, from highways, sewers, hydro generation and transmission, bridges, public buildings, etc.
It's long overdue that this be turned over to an international company like SNC-Lavalin for a comprehensive study that would include a prioritized construction program administered by private interests in accordance with specifications and budgets.
There is a wage hike in the Aurora budget. Wonder if they would forgo that little goodie, especially the ones with the whopping salaries.
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