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Thursday, April 27, 2023 | THE OBSERVER

OFA: Farmers looking for action from feds → FROM 14

Agriculture and other farm organizations, has been actively advocating for the federal government to exempt farmers from having to file an Underused Housing Tax return. We’ve been raising awareness and meeting with elected officials and government staff to explain the issue of multiple dwellings in rural areas when farmers buy farmland, and the unintended consequences this legislation now has for the farming community. Late last month, the federal government announced it is delaying any fees or penalties until October 31, giving affected property owners an extra six months to file their first return under the new act. Although this is a welcome reprieve to give us more time to make sense of the legislation, it doesn’t address the greater long-term impact and burden it places on farm businesses. Farmers are caught in the middle of governments trying to find housing solutions and the unique realities of farm businesses who unintentionally find themselves with multiple dwellings through the purchase of additional farmland. OFA and our partner organizations will continue to advocate strongly for a filing exemption for farmers, but while we do, we encourage all farmers to make sure they file their Underused Housing Tax return in order to avoid the substantial penalties, and to contact their accountants with any questions. ↆ Crispin Colvin, vice president, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

R U R A L C O N N E C T I O N S | 15

CHARLEBOIS: Changes in the market → FROM 14

but not planning for it certainly is. In the Western world, childlessness is slowly becoming a social norm which few governments have considered or accepted, at least not publicly. We need to accept that fewer people will have children. To respond to this, policies will have to support a reversed demographic pyramid, with fewer working adults, while supporting more seniors. Pets are the new children. There are over 16 million pet cats and dogs in Canada. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of pet owners has increased by at least 15 per cent, according to some reports. Pets are less costly and are arguably less life-changing than children. The commitment is simply different in many ways. For the food industry, that is certainly an area of tremendous growth to consider. With fewer children will come a greater number of pets. The food industry will need to come to terms with a declining market and fewer physically abled workers. With fewer stomachs to fill, not having enough farmland should be less of a concern. Since 40 per cent of the Canadian population lives in the major cities of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, we need to figure out a way to re-purpose our

rural areas. In processing, distribution, and retail, we see the same challenges. With both a shrinking and aging market, health and convenience will likely drive sales even more in years to come. We have seen nothing yet. And as for shrinkflation, since older people tend to eat less, this annoying trend of seeing smaller quantities with higher prices is far from over. The food industry will continue its quest to increase sales with less volume. Pre-cut, pre-prepared, pre-cooked, pre-this, pre-that, will be the main way to maintain sales levels. So, if you think we’re not going to have enough food for everyone, think again. The world will continue to produce enough food with better precision agriculture, more sustainable practices, automation, the use of artificial intelligence, and sound distribution practices, which will improve over time. The food industry is only one problem. Real estate, pension funds, health care, social programs, government debt – all of these aspects will need to be modified because there will soon be fewer people. And the planning needs to start now.

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ↆ Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

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