Sierra Club of Canada Media Release

Ottawa — The Sierra Club of Canada today asked the Ontario Government to withdraw the proposed Nutrient Management Act. Citing the judge’s decision in the Sarsfield Intensive Livestock Operation trial yesterday, the group urged the Ontario government to start writing legislation that reflects the wants of the citizens of Ontario.

Albert Roy, the judge in the Sarsfield decision is bound to interpret laws but in absence of any provincial environmental legislation, the judge had little choice but to grant the permit. The permit allows a 750 hog operation within the city of Ottawa, but the 750 hog cap is only a short-term reality. The barn built by hog factory promoters Mario Cote and Luc LaFontaine can hold as many as 3 000 breeder sows. The proposed Nutrient Management Act would not oppose such an operation.

“What is surprising is that, [in the aftermath of Walkerton], a large sophisticated hog operation can operate with a nutrient management plan which has not been approved by the Ministry of the Environment, in order to ensure that the drinking water and the environment are not, in any way, threatened”, Albert Roy stated in his 18 page decision. “The court is not in the best position to determine who should have the responsibility for protecting the environment and drinking water. That is for elected officials”.

Ontario has a total of over 7.7 million hogs, second only to Quebec, which has enacted a moratorium on new intensive hog operations. Intensive Livestock Operations are on the rise in Ontario. The total number of live hogs raised in Ontario is increasing by 9%/year. Ontario is the only province without nutrient management regulations in place, and under the proposed Nutrient Management Act the trend towards large-scale intensive hog operations would be able to continue.

But in Tweed Ontario a proposed industrial hog operation was successfully stopped in February of 2003 by the community thanks to a municipal by-law that was enacted solely to block the opening of the hog operation. Municipal control of Intensive Livestock Operations will be eliminated under the new Nutrient Management regulations.

The proposed Nutrient Management Act forces farmers to spend their own money and a tremendous amount of time submitting a nutrient management plan which will do little to protect our environment, small farms or local residents. Many owners of small farms are ready to stop farming altogther, simply due to the complexity of the reporting requirements. “The Nutrient Management Act is an expensive environmental joke,” said Andrea Peart, Health and Environment Campaigner with the Sierra Club of Canada. “The Nutrient Management Act hurts small producers, encourages factory farms and is detrimental to the environment. Did the Ontario government learn nothing from Walkerton?”