Bill 21 explained in plain English
Protect Our Food Act, 2025
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 21 establishes an advisory committee to develop recommendations for protecting agricultural land in Ontario and amends the Planning Act to require Agricultural Impact Assessments before rezoning land currently zoned for agricultural uses.
Bill 21, titled the Protect Our Food Act, 2025, does two main things: First, it creates the Foodbelt Protection Plan Advisory Committee. This committee will be made up of farmers, agricultural experts, soil scientists, professional planners, and representatives from food and agricultural organizations. They will be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council within 60 days of the bill receiving Royal Assent. The committee's job is to develop recommendations for a plan to protect Ontario's agricultural land. They will make recommendations about which farmland should be protected, how to protect it from development, what exceptions should exist (like for local food sales or farm education), ways to reduce land speculation, goals for soil and land health, restrictions on aggregate extraction (quarrying), and any other farmland protections. The committee must consult with the agricultural community and publish a report within 12 months. The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness will then have 60 days to report to the Ontario Legislature about what progress the government has made in implementing the committee's recommendations. Second, the bill amends the Planning Act. It adds new rules that apply to land that is currently zoned for agricultural uses. Under the new rules, a municipal council cannot pass a zoning by-law to change the uses allowed on this land or rezone it unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed first. Similarly, the Minister of Municipal Affairs cannot make a Minister's Zoning Order to change the uses or zoning of this land unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed. The specific agricultural uses to be protected and the rules for how Agricultural Impact Assessments will work will be set out in government regulations.
- Establishes the Foodbelt Protection Plan Advisory Committee, composed of farmers, agricultural experts, soil scientists, professional planners, and food and agricultural organization representatives appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Requires the committee to develop recommendations for a Foodbelt Protection Plan within 12 months of Royal Assent, addressing identification of protected farmland, restrictions on non-farm development, exceptions to protections, land speculation reduction, soil and land health goals, aggregate extraction restrictions, and additional farmland protections
- Requires the committee to consult broadly with the agricultural community in developing its recommendations
- Requires the committee to publish its report on a Government of Ontario website and send it to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
- Requires the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness to report to the Ontario Legislature within 60 days of receiving the committee's report on implementation progress
- Amends Part V of the Planning Act to prohibit municipalities from rezoning or changing permitted uses on land currently zoned for prescribed agricultural uses unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed
- Prohibits the Minister from making a Minister's Zoning Order to rezone or change permitted uses on such agricultural land unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed
- Authorizes the government to make regulations prescribing which agricultural uses are protected and governing how Agricultural Impact Assessments must be conducted
- Farmers and agricultural landowners whose land is zoned for prescribed agricultural uses
- Municipal councils and local municipality decision-makers who wish to rezone agricultural land or change permitted agricultural uses
- The provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs (or responsible minister) who makes Minister's Zoning Orders
- Agricultural experts, soil scientists, and professional planners who may be appointed to the advisory committee
- Food and agricultural organizations that may participate in the advisory committee
- The broader Ontario agricultural community, which the advisory committee must consult
- The general public interested in protecting agricultural land and food security in Ontario
- Municipal councils are prohibited from passing zoning by-laws that change uses or zoning on currently agricultural land unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed
- The Minister is prohibited from making a Minister's Zoning Order to change uses or zoning on currently agricultural land unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed
- The Foodbelt Protection Plan Advisory Committee must develop and publish recommendations within 12 months of Royal Assent
- The committee must consult broadly with the agricultural community when developing recommendations
- The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness must report to the Ontario Legislature on implementation progress within 60 days of receiving the committee's report
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint committee members within 60 days of Royal Assent
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 4)
- Committee members must be appointed within 60 days after Royal Assent (Section 1(3))
- The Committee must prepare and publish its report within 12 months after Royal Assent (Section 1(6))
- The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness must report to the Assembly within 60 days of receiving the Committee's report, or as early as possible in the next session if the Assembly is not in session (Section 1(8)-(9))
- The bill does not specify any financial costs or tax impacts in the text provided. Costs associated with establishing and operating the advisory committee and conducting Agricultural Impact Assessments would be determined by future regulations and government budgeting, which are not detailed in this bill.
- The bill text does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms for violations of the restrictions on rezoning or changing permitted uses on agricultural land. Enforcement would likely follow the procedures already established in the Planning Act, but this bill does not detail those consequences.
- The bill does not specify which agricultural uses will be 'prescribed' in regulations—this is left to future regulation-making
- The specific requirements and process for conducting an Agricultural Impact Assessment are not detailed in the bill; they will be set out in regulations
- The bill does not explain what an Agricultural Impact Assessment must contain or what criteria will be used to approve or deny rezoning based on such an assessment
- It is unclear how the government will implement the advisory committee's recommendations or whether implementation will be mandatory
- The bill does not define what constitutes 'change to uses permitted on the land' and whether this covers minor modifications to existing permissions
- The extent to which the restrictions on rezoning will apply to agricultural land in different municipalities (e.g., whether all agricultural zoning is covered or only certain designations) depends on future regulation
- The bill does not address whether existing zoning by-laws or Minister's Zoning Orders that have already been passed will be subject to these new restrictions
Adds a new section (33.1) that restricts municipal councils and the Minister from rezoning or changing the permitted uses on land currently zoned for prescribed agricultural uses unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been completed in accordance with regulations.
Source: Section 2 and 3
Grants the government power to make regulations prescribing which agricultural uses are to be protected under section 33.1 and governing how Agricultural Impact Assessments must be carried out.
Source: Section 3
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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Official sources
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