Draft Agricultural Impact Assessment Guidance Document

The draft Guidance Document is designed to help municipal planning practitioners, agricultural and environmental assessment professionals, aggregate producers, development and infrastructure proponents, and other decision-makers satisfy new policies in the updated provincial land use plans related to Agricultural Impact Assessments.

The document also provides information on how to mitigate impacts from development on agriculture. The Guidance Document will help members of the public and stakeholders better understand the  type of work that may be carried out for certain types of development that require an Agricultural Impact Assessment. 

Information in the Guidance Document includes: 

• A clear definition of an Agricultural Impact Assessment  and related provincial requirements
• Technical guidelines and relevant information to include in an Agricultural Impact Assessment to ensure consistency (or an equivalent analysis as part of an environmental assessment)
• A list of mitigation measures and resources that may be considered to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts on agriculture, including information on rehabilitating land back to agriculture

Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has posted the draft Agricultural Impact Assessment Guidance Document for public comment on the Environmental Registry.

Comments on the draft Guidance Document are welcome between March 15 and July 13, 2018.

You can submit comments by:

• Visiting the Environmental Registry posting and clicking the ‘comment’ button 
• Email: aia@ontario.ca • Fax: 519-826-3492
• Mail:

Agricultural Impact Assessments
c/o Michele Doncaster, Policy Advisor
Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs
1 Stone Road West, 2nd floor
Guelph, ON
N1G 4Y2