MAPLETON – As a member of Canada’s chamber of “sober second thought” from Ontario’s agricultural heartland, Senator Rob Black brings a rural point of view to the nation’s capital.
“Because of my background, I look at everything from an agriculture and rural perspective,” Black, a Fergus-area resident who was named to the Senate in 2018, told Mapleton council members at their March 8 meeting at the township’s council chambers.
“So I can assure you that I’m looking out, trying to look out, for rural and agriculture in Ontario and agriculture in Canada.”
He added he considers matters that come before the Senate on the basis of “how will this bill, how will this discussion, how will this policy, affect farmers and how will it affect rural communities?”
Addressing a local municipal council as a delegation for the first time as a senator, Black discussed his path to the Senate and the internal workings of the upper chamber, as well its current areas of deliberation and his personal focus.
Black spent many years working in rural, agricultural and leadership positions, including 4-H and other leadership programs, such as Junior Farmers and the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP).
He has been involved in 4-H for almost 50 years at the local, provincial and national levels and is a past president of the Canadian 4-H Council.
He has also been manager of the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, and president of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association and the Wellington County Historical Society.
Black worked with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs for 15 years and spent five years as the executive director of 4-H Ontario before becoming executive director of the Centre for Rural Leadership, now known as the Rural Ontario Institute.
Black was elected to Wellington County council in 2014 and served as Ward 5 councillor until his appointment to the senate.
His road to the Senate began in 2016, when his son, Taylor, then 24, learned of the newly-created application process for the Senate. After deciding he didn’t meet the qualifications himself (senators must be between 30 and 75 years old and own real estate), Taylor suggested his father consider it.
“So I did. I filled out an application form … and sent it in. I promptly forgot about it,” Black said.
About 18 months later, Black said, “I started to hear some rumblings by email. They wanted to know a bit more information.”
On Feb. 18, Black received a call from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office.
“They said please hold for the prime minister. And we talked for about 15 minutes. He talked about my background, my skill sets: agriculture, rural development, leadership and youth and he said he wanted me to bring those skill sets to the red chamber, to the Senate chamber,” Black recalls.
Prior to 2015 Senators were appointed on a largely partisan basis. At that point the Trudeau government implemented reforms and created an arm’s-length process in which applications are reviewed by a committee.
Canada’s 105 Senators represents all parts of the country.
“We are businessmen, scientists, immigrants, police officers, Indigenous people, journalists, teachers, athletes, community leaders, senior civil servants and even one person that comes from Wellington County,” said Black, the fifth county resident to hold the office in the Senate’s 154-year history.
Black sits in the chamber as an independent senator and chairs the Canadian Senators Group, a collection of 13 independent senators.
“We come from all walks of life and from all parties; we have Liberals, we have Conservatives, we have independents in that group,” he explained.
Black noted there are several other working blocks within the Senate.
“Currently, we have senators that do represent the Conservative Party of Canada. We have senators that represent the Independent Senators Group, which is a large group in the Senate. We have senators that represent the Progressive Senate Group, which is really the old Liberal Party of Canada,” he explained.
“Regardless of where we choose to sit, we’re free to speak our minds. We don’t have to worry about elections. I’m appointed until the age of 75.
“So as a senator we can we can look at things from a deeper dive … We don’t have to worry about making the right decision because the party says so, or because my constituents think I should vote in certain way.”
While the Senate is involved in review and discussion on many topics on a long-term basis, Black said the chamber is also heavily involved in current issues.
“As you might expect, the last few weeks have been taken up with the Emergencies Act, which was … debated and voted on in the House of Commons,” he explained.
“And we debated on it for about 12 to 15 hours before … the prime minister revoked the order and so we stopped debating it and it never did get to a vote.”
He added, “The other thing that is taking a lot of our time now is discussions around the Ukraine.
“Not that the Senate can do a lot about that, but we certainly are involved in supporting the work of government and the work on what’s happening in Ukraine.”
Black himself is currently pushing for the Senate to undertake the first national study of soil health in 38 years.
“It’s high time we updated that study,” said Black, who added his proposal for a new soil health study is currently working its way through the Senate’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee.
“To look at soil health today is much different than in 1984. That study was really directed at farmland and what do farmers do to protect the health of the soils. But today it’s important that we think about the soil and soil health from a lot of perspectives.”
Black noted the new study, if it’s undertaken, will be directed at all Canadians.
“Because we can look at it from economics, we can look at it from carbon sequestration, we can look at food security, we can look at it from soil health, as well,” he pointed out.
Black invited council members and local citizens to follow his accounts on social media and feel free to offer thoughts and suggestions to him via email.
“If I don’t know what’s happening in rural Ontario, across rural Ontario, rural Canada, I can’t stand up and speak knowledgeably about it in the chamber or in committee,” he said.
Mayor Gregg Davidson thanked Black for appearing before Mapleton council.
“I very much appreciate you taking the time to come here today and explain the Senate to us, and what your goals are. It’s super-important.”
