The Ontario government has announced $15-million in supplemental Agri-food Workplace Protection Program funding for health and safety measures on farms and in food processing facilities. According to a government press release, this funding will help farmers purchase personal protective equipment and implement workplace modifications and other measures to improve health and safety for their workers.
Specifically, the Enhanced Agri-food Workplace Protection Program provides cost-share funding for farmers to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and implement workplace modifications and other measures. By significantly expanding the program, farmers can take additional steps to improve health and safety for their workers and ensure the continued supply of locally grown food during the COVID-19 outbreak.
This announcement more than triples the earlier investment in this program by the governments of Canada and Ontario.
Both levels of government had committed a total of up to $4.5 million for farmers and provincially licensed meat processors to enhance worker safety under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership program.
Some of the measures already approved through this program include purchases of PPE, temporary housing for ill workers, building physical barriers for worker separation, enhanced hand washing facilities and a tent rental to expand lunch room space.
