Council extends deadline for farm worker housing

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — Councillor John Hammond brought forth a notice of motion at the January 11 council meeting that sought to extend the deadline for greenhouse operations looking to comply with the bylaw passed last year.

The original by-law, requiring owners of farm worker housing and boarding houses within the municipality to retro-fit the housing and bring it up to fire and building safety standards, was passed last spring by council.

An October deadline passed and several operators had not yet complied.

Hammond said that many of the operators he had talked to were not aware of the by-law, so he suggested in his motion that a new date of March 15, 2022 be set.

The original by-law is currently under appeal by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.

“There are a number of farm operations who are up against the wall on this,” said Councillor Paul Tiessen.

Deputy Mayor Larry Verbeke asked about those who may not be able to comply due to material shortages and other issues.

“What if they can’t comply?” asked Verbeke. “Do we have to extend it again?”

Leamington CAO Peter Neufeld explained that the by-law was put in place to ensure the safety of the workers and that continuously extended the deadline doesn’t help the safety of the workers.

In the end, the motion was carried unanimously, with Trevor Jones excluded from the vote because of pecuniary interest.