The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness is proposing amendments to the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, (Act) and Regulation 18 to modernize permits and licences.

In support of the government’s Protect Ontario-Streamline Permission and Approvals project to strengthen the economy and enhance Ontario’s competitiveness through permit modernization, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness is proposing amendments to the Act and Regulation 18 that would, if approved, streamline, transform, or eliminate permits, registrations, and licences. The proposed amendments would, if approved: (1) eliminate licences for machines used to install tile drainage, (2) eliminate “Class C” machine operator licences, and (3) remove renewal requirements for “Class A” and “Class B” machine operator licences.  

The Act currently requires businesses that install tile drainage systems to obtain three forms of licences.  These include a Business Licence, a Machine License for any machines used to install tile drainage and an Operator Licence for persons who operate these machines.

The current framework requires operators to complete a graduated licensing system, beginning as a Class C operator.  A Class C operator must have a minimum of 60 days of experience installing tile drainage systems and must be supervised at all times by a Class A or B operator.  A Class B operator must have a minimum of 250 hours of experience operating a tile drainage machine, must successfully complete one prescribed course on land drainage (Primary Drainage Course), and must be in contact with a Cass A operator every three hours.  After 500 hours of experience in operating tile drainage machines, completion of a second prescribed course (Advanced Drainage Course) and a field test, an operator qualifies for a Class A operator licence and may operate tile drainage machines without supervision.  All classes of operator licences currently expire every three years.  There are no conditions or qualifications required to renew expired licences nor is any data collected at the time of renewal to bring value to the process.

The proposal would, if approved, simplify the regulatory framework for operators by eliminating the Class C operator licence and eliminating the renewal requirements for the remaining Class A and Class B operator licences.   Removing the Class C operator licence will allow businesses to promptly initiate training for new machine operators. All other requirements pertaining to the Class A and Class B operator licences would remain unchanged.

The current framework requires all machines used for the commercial installation of tile drainage works to be licensed.  The licensing process involves an in-field examination of the first machine of every new model produced in Ontario as well as all machines imported into Ontario prior to their commercial use. The examination requires the installation, excavation, and careful measurement of several sections of tile drainage to verify the accuracy of the machine.  The process requires the applicant to provide access to land to carry out the test, use of the machine, an excavator, and several staff.  OMAFA staff conduct the measurements.  The testing requires cooperative weather conditions and may take multiple days.  When sold, a notice of transfer must be provided to OMAFA to document the transfer of an existing, licensed, machine.

The existing machine licensing requirement has been in place since 1973.  Advancements in tile drainage machine technology, including improvements to GPS technology, have improved both the accuracy of tile drainage machines and industry’s ability to independently evaluate their performance.  The proposal would, if approved, eliminate the requirement of licensing for tile drainage machines and related proactive examination, renewal and transfer requirements.  While it is proposed that the permitting requirements would be eliminated, existing minimum standards that machines are required to meet would be retained in regulation.

The current framework requires all businesses that install tile drainage to obtain a licence, which must be renewed annually, with businesses being required to submit records of all tile drainage systems installed during the previous year.   The proposal would, if approved, retain the existing regulatory framework for business licences.  Additional attestations would be required.  For example, as a component of the business licence application and renewal, where applicants will be required to attest to the accuracy and operability of any machine used in the installation of tile drainage works.

The application and renewal process for a Class C Machine Operator licence requires the filling and submission of a digital or paper form that is estimated to take 0.5 hours per application or renewal.  The proposed amendment to remove the requirement for Class C Operator licences and their renewal is anticipated to save, if approved, Ontario businesses approximately 15 hours and $342 annually.

Currently, Class B and Class A Machine Operator licences expire every three years.  The renewal process requires the filling and submission of a digital or paper form that is estimated to take 0.5 hours per renewal.   The proposed amendment to remove the requirement to renew Class A and Class B operator licences is anticipated to save, if approved, Ontario businesses approximately 56 hours and $2,199 annually.

Tile drainage installation machine licensing results in direct compliance costs through application and renewal processes, licence transfers and machine inspections.  Application, renewal and transfer processes for tile drainage installation machines require the filling and submission of digital or paper forms that are estimated to take 0.5 hours to complete.   The proposed amendment to remove the drainage installation machine licences, renewals and transfers is anticipated to save, if approved, Ontario businesses approximately 41 hours and $1,610 annually. Inspection of tile drainage machines occurs whenever a new model is produced in Ontario or a machine is imported into Ontario. Approximately 1.5 new models and 4 imported machines are inspected per year, requiring approximately 8 hours of time for a new model and 6 hours of time for a crew of two operators and one labourer for an imported machine.   The proposed amendment to remove the drainage machine inspections is anticipated to save, if approved, Ontario businesses approximately 108 hours and $3,056 annually

Overall, the proposed amendments, if approved, are estimated to save Ontario businesses 220 hours and $7,207 annually.