TORONTO – A private member’s bill from Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae meant to help promote agricultural tourism in the province has been referred to the Legislative Assembly for its third and final reading.
Called the Growing Agritourism Act, Rae said it is aimed at protecting farmers from liability associated with hosting visitors on their farms.
It passed clause-by-clause consideration at the Standing Committee on the Interior on Nov. 27.
“For anyone who currently has an agri-tourism operation as part of their farm, there are inherent risks,” Rae said.
“My private member’s bill specifically focuses on risk liability.”
The act states that farmers don’t have to eliminate the risks inherent in an agritourism activity, and if the operators post a sign warning of the risks, they will be limited from liability.
Rae said agri-tourism has skyrocketed in popularity, but when people visit working farms, there is a chance they could get hurt, and when they do they may sue.
A fictitious example he provided was a situation where a visitor wore high heels apple picking and was injured because of wearing inappropriate footwear in the orchard.
“There are actually lawsuits in the province right now,” he said. “More visitors mean more potential instances of these frivolous lawsuits.”
It can cause farmers to be reluctant to open their gates to the community, or it can mean farmers that want to host agritourism operations have difficulty getting insurance coverage, Rae said.
“Some insurance providers aren’t even willing to offer coverage,” he said.
In order to benefit from the liability protections the bill offers, operators would have to clearly inform visitors of the risks associated with farm operations through a contract or simple signage.
Rae’s bill provides the warning language that agritourism operators would be required to post.
The final line of the paragraph tells farm visitors: “You are assuming the risk of participating in this agritourism activity.”
“It will provide consistency,” Rae said, explaining that including the warning language simplifies the process for agritourism operators.
He said the bill has received lots of support from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and other farm-related organizations.
Kevin Vallier, CEO of Farm Fresh Ontario, recently testified to the standing committee on the impact of the Growing Agritourism Act on agri-businesses across Ontario, a news release stated.
“This bill serves to address one of the barriers to farm operators identified by our members by providing a reasonable limitation of liability resulting from any harm a participant may sustain during participation in an agritourism activity,” Vallier stated in the release.
Darlene Downey, co-owner of Downey’s Farm in the Caledon area, also spoke positively about the proposed legislation in the news release.
“Agri-tourism can be one of the most important and exciting areas of the province’s tourism sector,” Downey stated.
“This act will go a long way in insuring that those who have diversified their farms into agri-tourism will have a bright future.”
Rae said he hopes it will mean more farmers will be able to offer agri-tourism experiences.
“Agri-tourism is a bridge between our farm families and our citizens living in our growing cities,” Rae stated in the release.
“Ontario has the opportunity to be a national leader when it comes to supporting agri-tourism, and our rural communities.”
