The abrupt increases in Ontario's minimum wage rules pose a major risk for the province's horticulture sector because growers are dependent on labour and face competition from low cost countries, says Ken Forth, Chairman of the Labour Section of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association (OFVGA). “It would have been a lot better for us if the minimum wages had increased to $13 an hour this year, $14 next year and $15 the year after,” he said in an interview. The 24 per cent increase for this year is tough to handle in a tight margin business like growing fruits and vegetables. “Not only do our competitors not have to match us in wages, they don't have to meet all the food safety rules we do,” said Forth, a Flamborough broccoli grower. The horticulture industry tried explaining its challenge meeting the increases to the government but in most cases, minds were made up. While some in government including Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal understand the industry's difficulties competing with imports, there were also a lot who basically just said the sector “should just suck it up.” He expects a number of growers will drop out of business because the wage increases will make their operations unsustainable but their farms are generally too small to go into grain production.  “Some will sell out while others could rent their land to a crop grower. It's a big unknown.” “We would like to be able to afford to pay higher wages than we do,” he said. The minimum wage went from $11.40 an hour to $14 an hour on Jan. 1 and $15 an hour next January. While he's heard from growers who believe the additional wage costs will make their operations financially unsustainable, he's also frustrated by how slow many growers were to speak out on the issue. “If food prices, we'll be okay. Otherwise in a year or two, we'll be hearing from a lot of growers about they can't make it work.” There's nothing in the federal-provincial Business Risk Management programs that will provide any relief in this case. “There's already a diminished horticulture industry,” he has said. “If you drive around Waterdown and Millgrove you'll see fields that used to be horticulture crops that are now growing grain crops.” It isn't just horticulture growers that face higher wages but also all their input suppliers and the buyers of their products, he said. He said the foreign workers who work on his farm are also worried about how many of them will still have jobs in the coming years, he said. In the Ontario government's Fall Economic Statement, the provincial government announced it will help horticulture growers “address challenges to their competitiveness beyond their control such as higher energy costs, cap and trade, and pending provincial labour changes,” the OVFGA said. The organization is still for answers to its request for more information on the details of the support and has said it will work collaboratively with the government on roll-out and implementation. That promise showed the government recognized “the importance of the edible horticulture sector to the provincial economy and its unique position of competing as a price-taker in the global market. Ontario's agriculture sector needs ongoing predictability and stability with respect to major policy decisions with on-farm impact in order to continue to make long-term decisions.” The Ontario horticulture sector is also closely following the NAFTA negotiations and especially the impact of the low wage sectors in Mexico. “In Mexico, they're paying $6 for 12 hours,” says Forth. “Not $6 an hour, $6 for 12 hours.” Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.