As a parting Christmas shot to Hamilton Council, Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP and Deputy Speaker Donna Skelly has launched a movement within the Ontario Legislature that, if adopted, would prohibit municipalities like Hamilton from charging stormwater charges on agricultural properties which don’t contribute to the prices of stormwater administration methods.
A launch from the MPP’s workplace reads, “regardless of opposition from rural communities, Hamilton is implementing a stormwater administration charge program efficient April 1, 2026, to help the development and upkeep of municipal stormwater infrastructure. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Meals and Agribusiness estimates these charges might exceed tens of 1000’s yearly for agricultural properties whereas an city property could also be charged a whole bunch of {dollars}.
Reached by the Bay Observer, Skelly stated she is assured the measure will go when the legislature resumes sitting in February.
The discharge says the movement will convey consistency to the problem of stormwater charges. “Inside Ontario, some farmers function in municipalities that exempt agricultural lands from stormwater charges whereas others function in municipalities that don’t present this exemption, inflicting inconsistency throughout the province in how farmland is handled. There isn’t any provincial steering on how you can calculate these charges, so municipalities are adopting their very own approaches to those assessments, creating completely different tiers of charges relying on which method the municipality adopts. A province-wide exemption to agricultural lands from stormwater charges throughout the province would offer consistency throughout the province and scale back aggressive drawback for Ontario farmers going through these charges.
The measure met with approval from the agricultural group. Drew Spoelstra. President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture commented, “The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and its 38,000 farm family members strongly supports the motion to exempt agricultural properties from the proposed stormwater tax. This motion is aligned with OFA’s policies and also recognizes the unique and significant contributions of the agricultural sector to Ontario’s economy.”
