A healthy environment is critical to sustaining our agriculture. As one of the leading agricultural insurers in Canada, The Co‑operators supports initiatives taken by farmers and corporations to help protect the environment.

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• Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
• British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Manitoba Agriculture
• New Brunswick Agriculture and Rural Development
• Newfoundland Forest Resources and Agrifood
• Newfoundland Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Nova Scotia Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
• Prince Edward Island Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Quebec Ministere d'Agriculture, Pecheries et Alimentation
• Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Federal government

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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To help protect our farming environment, each provincial government has implemented strict environmental regulations which farmers must follow. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act of each province is the legal backdrop against which all businesses, including agriculture, operate. The goal of government regulations is not to penalize farmers and corporations, but to work together to ensure our land is healthy and available for future generations.

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For farmers who choose to ignore regulations in their provincial environmental acts, penalties can range from fines of $50,000 to $1,000,000 to jail time, or in worst cases, both. And it's not just the farmers who pay - officers of corporations that have not complied with environmental regulations are also subject to fines and jail terms. 

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We strongly urge you to contact your appropriate provincial agency and do a complete environmental assessment of your own farm. Completing this assessment shows that you have demonstrated "due diligence." This is a legal term which means that you have taken proactive measures to avoid an offence. Today, due diligence is the only acceptable defence by environmental legislation.

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To make sure you and your farm are following government legislation, the first thing you should do is an assessment of your current farming practices. This assessment is different for the various regions of Canada:

British Columbia and Atlantic provinces
British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
New Brunswick Agriculture and Rural Development
Newfoundland Forest Resources and Agrifood
Newfoundland Fisheries and Aquaculture
Nova Scotia Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Prince Edward Island Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Ontario
Ontario Federation of Agriculture, along with Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, AGCare and Ontario Farm Animal Council have formed a coalition to develop a program called Our Farm Environmental Agenda. Contact any one of these organizations to see how you can participate.

Prairie provinces
In the prairies, the three prairie wheat pools have shared in the development of the Farm Environmental Assessment Guide. This guide is available by contacting your provincial wheat pool: Saskatchewan Wheat Pool/AgPro or Agricore United.

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Limited liability pollution insurance is available from most insurers. The Co‑operators provides limited coverage for bodily injury, property damage or clean-up costs caused by "pollution incidents" The key word is "incident." It is not the intent of any insurance policy to pay for damages caused by long-term pollution.

This limited coverage is available for a pollution incident which is an unexpected and unintentional discharge of any pollutants from, or out of, a structure or container, provided that the discharge:

• is detected by any person within 120 hours of the start of the discharge
• results in environmental damage
• does not occur in a quantity or with a quality that is routine or usual to the insured's operation

If you have any further questions, contact your agent.

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