The local greenhouse sector is getting a funding boost to help it be more competitive and deal with ongoing issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and nuisance stray lighting coming from the structures at night.
Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls announced $1.83 million on Wednesday morning for seven local projects, most of it going to greenhouses in the Leamington area. He said nearly $1 million will help test a 24 hour low-intensity lighting system to reduce glaring night time light currently coming from the greenhouses, while $150,000 is going towards new anti-viral coating technology to treat tools and surfaces.
Bright stray light coming from greenhouses in the Leamington and Kingsville area at night has become a major concern and inconvenience for those residents. Nicholls said the light testing will be done at Allegro Acres in Ruthven and will not only benefit the residents, but help the greenhouses maximize their operations as well. He added the anti-viral funding will help keep viruses at bay.
Trevor Jones, a director at the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association (OGVG), said the money will have a collective benefit that will also help greenhouses in Chatham-Kent.
"When it comes to pest mitigation, disease reduction and all those technologies, that's for all greenhouse operators," he said.
According to Jones, there is a major decrease in tomato production around the world currently, and the industry is trying to solve the problem.
“The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers wish to thank the Minister as well as the entire Ontario Government for their support.” said George J. Gilvesy, chair of OGVG. “Their ongoing trust and belief in our sector proves that private and public efforts can come together for the overall good.”
Jones also said the greenhouse industry is redesigning some of its migrant worker housing to make sure the workers are safe from COVID-19. He said there's a study underway to research housing proximity, size, and safeguards. Jones said that's on top of the health and safety protocols that have already been put in place.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs estimates that approximately 85,000 direct jobs and $3.4 billion in direct GDP can be attributed to Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable and floriculture and nursery industries.
Meantime, Ontario has also announced it is expanding inspections at farming and greenhouse operations to keep temporary workers safe from COVID-19.
The inspections will focus on the following:
- Raising awareness of COVID-19 health and safety requirements through the distribution of information and instruction to farm workers, supervisors and employers;
- Increasing compliance with workplace health and safety laws, including putting protocols in place to ensure hand hygiene, masking, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, and proper physical distancing between workers;
- Enhancing protection for temporary foreign agricultural workers living and working on farming and agricultural operations by ensuring employers are actively screening workers for COVID-19, including completion of a daily COVID-19 questionnaire;
- Providing compliance information and enforcement of public health measures required under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Approach to COVID-19) Act to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace and in the community.
Inspectors will also check on engineering controls, movement of workers, whether a workplace safety plan exists as required under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Approach to COVID-19) Act, 2020, and whether occupational illnesses are being reported as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
Inspectors can issue orders or lay charges against those who break the law. The maximum penalty upon conviction under the OHSA is $1.5 million for a corporation and $100,000 for an individual. Individuals may also be imprisoned for up to 12 months upon conviction.
"Our government is taking action to protect essential temporary foreign workers who may be at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 during the upcoming growing season," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. "We rely on these workers to ensure our grocery store shelves remain stocked and families have food on the table. These inspections will help stop the spread of COVID-19 on farms, and in our communities."
There were 20,500 temporary foreign workers in Ontario in 2020, most of whom resided in communal living quarters on farms. More than 1,780 temporary foreign workers tested positive for COVID-19 in Ontario in 2020 from Ontario acquired infections. Ministry health and safety inspectors visited 718 farms during COVID-19-related inspections in the agricultural sector in 2020 and issued 383 orders.