Occupational health and safety recommendations, outlining how Provincial legislation could apply to farms and ranches, are open to feedback until January 15.

Alberta's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Oneil Carlier, says everyone has the opportunity to provide their input in order to ensure the recommendations are as good as possible.

"It's not going to be an end game. It's always going to be a living process because next year perhaps there's going to be a different industry, a new product being grown, or perhaps even new machinery that we're going to have to take a look at to make sure that it continues to be safe for workers and for owners as well."

Carlier says, there is no set date as to when we can expect legislation after the feedback period closes.

"There hasn't been a time line yet on that. What we said from day one, making sure we take the time to get this right, but the Minister of Labour has yet to set a date on when that exactly will happen."

Carlier says, he's talked with all the Commissions and Marketing Boards, which he committed to doing when they started this process.

"I've gone out a bit further than that too. Included some food processing, some green house growers for instance, so a lot of people within the industry about what this might mean to them, their own particular sector, and continue looking for that feedback."

It's been quite a positive experience, Carlier says.

"I want to thank them for the hard work they have done, and the dedication they have on making working lives better for everyone, not just the paid non-family employees on those farms, but the family farmers themselves. Already safe work that they're doing, here's an opportunity to put a few more tools in their toolbox, and make those operations that more safe."

To view the recommendations, you can visit their website. Your feedback can be given on the website, or by emailing farmandranch@gov.ab.ca before January 15, 2018.

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