The Ontario Greenhouse…

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) are pleased to provide comments regarding the “Harmonizing greenhouse gas reporting requirements to reduce burden” and are in support of the proposed amendments. OGVG represents approximately 200 farmers responsible for over 3,100 acres of greenhouse tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers across the province. With farmgate sales of $946 million in 2018, a contribution of $1.6 billion to the economy and a consistent track record of growth, the sector is a valuable economic driver for the province. Our members are committed to the health and safety of people and the environment while they grow fresh, high quality food year-round and contribute to meeting healthy eating and food security goals across the province. As leaders in the agriculture sector in Ontario we aim to be stewards of the land and are keen to do our part to protect the environment.

As many of our members are captured by the annual 10,000 tonne CO2 emission threshold for reporting under the federal Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), we are in support of streamlining the provincial reporting requirements through alignment with the existing federal framework. Furthermore, it is common for our members to have their operations spread over two properties and hence we are in support of the amended facility definition under section 2 (4). We believe these amendments will help to reduce administrative burden and costs on our members and supports an Open for Business agenda for Ontario.

We thank you for this opportunity to comment.