It’s rite of spring on prairie farms: neighbours coming over to help pull calves and kids pitching in with the chores..But now the UCP caucus is warning a Rachel Notley government would revive its deeply unpopular Bill 6 farm legislation that classified rural family members and friends as farm workers..Bill 6 was a public relations disaster for the governing NDP when it was passed in December of 2015, forcing family members to be covered by Occupational Health and Safety (OHAS) rules and pay compensation — whether they were paid employees or not..Among other things, the bill attempted to make it illegal for kids to work on their family farms and ranches, and mandate all other farmhands be insured through the Workers Compensation Board. .It came after a series of tragic accidents that saw three sisters smothered by canola seed near Red Deer the preceding fall. Despite the legislation’s lack of popularity, however, the NDP used time allocation to ram it through the legislature, sparking large protests..“This was a direct attack on the people who drive Alberta's economy and put food on our tables,” the UCP said in a release..It was repealed in November of 2019, but not before the NDP made exemptions for family farms..Now the UCP alleges Notley and the NDP are planning to take another crack at it if it's elected May 29. In response to a reporter’s question, Notley said an NDP government would “reconsider” certain aspects of the original law, particularly with respect to minimum wages..“This is a bad rerun. We all remember when Rachel Notley and the NDP attempted to destroy family farms and ranches with their disastrous Bill 6 legislation. No one wants to go back there, Drumheller-Stettler UCP candidate Nate Horner said..“The UCP scrapped Bill 6, and so long as we’re in government, it will stay scrapped.".Horner said the NDP doesn’t understand Alberta’s agriculture industry because they don’t have a single farmer or rancher in their caucus, while the UCP has several..“The UCP understands the agriculture sector, which is why our industry is so strong right now, with record high farm cash receipts, livestock market receipts, cattle and calf receipts, and program payments. We are also making record investments into irrigation, and we just saw Japan lift its restrictions on Alberta beef. Things are good,” Horner said..“The NDP, on the other hand, are a threat to farmers and ranchers across Alberta."
