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By TARA BOWIE NORWICH GAZETTE
NORWICH — Although the Green Party and a rural meat packer might not go hand in hand in the minds of voters, the provincial Green Party leader used Norwich Packers as a backdrop Wednesday to speak about food handling regulations and local economies.
“NorPac is a model operation when looking at small-scale businesses that have to compete with larger companies. They are a success,” said Mike Schreiner, leader of the Ontario Green Party (GPO). “Of course food safety is of utmost importance, but we’re worried regulations are going to put small-scale operations out of business.”
Schreiner met with business owners and staff at Norwich Packers to underline the GPO’s commitment to supporting community- based economies through smart regulations.
“We have to reverse the closure of local food processing facilities since they are essential in building a strong, sustainable food sector. We need smart regulations to promote food safety while putting local processors on a level playing field,” he said.
He pointed to living by the “buy local” theme, which has cropped up over the past few years as essential to having sustainable communities. He suggested many sectors where buying local could be mandated to stimulate the initiative, including hospitals, schools and all public institutions.
“We are starting to see more of this, but I think it’s just piecemeal rhetoric,” he said. “Lets get beyond the talks of supporting local and start writing the cheques,” he said.
Ron Heleniak, one of Norwich Packers owners, said although food safety is a top priority for the company and its employees, regulations being handed down are hard for the small business to process.
“We have a buoyant market and a great network of local suppliers and consumers. What we need is an appropriate regulatory environment so that we can actually compete with agribusiness,” he said.
Norwich Township native Rebecca Harrison, a federal Green Party candidate in the Whitby-Oshawa riding, accompanied Schreiner.
Harrison, 27, grew up just outside of Burgessville and was introduced to politics by her father, Mark Harrison, who served as a longtime mayor and councillor for Norwich Township.