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Farm Safety

On Monday March 14, I spoke on Canadian Agricultural Safety Week.   The good news is that there has been a considerable improvement in farm safety during the last decade.  But there are still areas were we can do better.

Canadian Agri­cul­tural Safety Week

Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, for many years, injury rates and time lost to injury in agriculture have been too high. But the numbers have come down in the last 10 years, which is a good sign. This appears to be because of a combination of improved design of equipment, improved safety standards and improved handling of chemicals. But we can and must do more.

      More attention needs to be given not just to traumatic injuries but also to diseases and health conditions which are more common among farmers. These include respiratory conditions, exposures to farm chemicals, mental health issues and hearing loss. The farm chemical exposures may be the cause of the increase in certain cancers among farmers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute leukemia, multiple myeloma and soft tissue sarcoma.

      Hearing loss is common among farmers: 50 per cent or more of farmers over 50 years of age have hearing loss. Modern cabs shield the driver from the loud noise of their tractor, but, in the past, prolonged exposure was very common.

      When we're talking about farm safety, we should also consider safety of farm animals. I was called recently by a farmer who lost several calves. Some hay from last year's drought was high in nitrates and his calves died from high levels of nitrates. The farmer I talked to had been farming for 50 years and he'd never experienced this problem before or even heard of it. More could be done to help farmers be aware of issues like this.

      Let us work hard on an ongoing basis to continue improving farm safety. Farm safety week is a good time to remind all of us.

      Thank you.

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