New farm worker safety laws in Alberta not welcome by all

Injured farm workers are encouraged Alberta'snew agriculture minister wants to include them in workplacesafety legislation, but some ranchers are worried government interference willhurt their operations.

"We have rules and regulations on how to maintain the animals,to slaughter, to the Stampede grounds, anything like that," saidPhillipa Thomas,a Cochrane woman who was injured permanently while working at a stablein 2006.

"Butwe have nothing for the people who get them to where they need to be."

• Alberta farm worker protection a tough fight, says expert
• No new farm safety laws coming

Unlike other provinces, farm workers in Alberta are exempt from Occupational Health and Safety laws and theyhave no right to refuse unsafe work.

There is also no legislation requiring their employers maintain WorkersCompensation Board coverage or child labour standards on farms and ranches.

"We try to do everything as proper as we can," saidDougBidulock, a rancher in the Cochrane area.

Concernsabout rules

"If they want tostart implementing a bunch of rules and regulations you know, we're not like big businesses right," he said.

It's a concern that is not lost on Thomas, who says sheunderstands why producers would be worried about new government rules that could affecttheir businesses.

"You know agriculture is a special thing in this province, just like oil and gas is a special thing, and you knowthey make the changes to accommodate whatever industry they're making rules for," she said.

Butfarm workers have no rights when it comes to refusing unsafe work, and changing the lawwould send a message that is long overdue, Thomas says.

"It is a big move; it's a bold statement."

It would be a big moveall right, according to Bidulock, who sayshe's waiting to see what the province comes up with.