As Toronto waits for Bill 31, MPPs will take time off for a plowing match. Here’s what you need to know -- starting with the basics

Thestar.com
September 14, 2018
Premila D’sa

Premier Doug Ford left the city in limbo on Wednesday when he invoked the controversial “notwithstanding” clause in a new bill to cut the number of Toronto city councillors. City hall, candidates for council and the city clerk’s office must now wait for Queen’s Park to pass Bill 31 before they can resume planning for the rapidly approaching municipal election.

“We have hit a tipping point,” city clerk Ulli Watkiss told council Thursday morning, adding it is “becoming virtually impossible for us to carry out” the Oct. 22 election.

Kim Hadwen of Belleville guides his team of horses at at the 2014 International Plowing Match in Essa township, near Barrie.

While the House will gather for a session Saturday at 1 p.m., something that happens rarely, Toronto will have to wait a bit longer before the rules are set. The province is still scrambling to pass Bill 31.

Why the delay? In part it’s because the legislature is planning to take a break next week for a plowing match.

Almost every year, Queen’s Park decides near-unanimously to take a break so MPPs can attend the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo. And even though the future of Toronto city council is in the balance, this year is unlikely to be an exception.

So, why is a plowing match prolonging the chaos over Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause?

Here’s everything you need to know, starting with the basics:

What is the International Plowing Match?

If you do know the basics about farming, a plowing match is pretty much what you’d think it would be: a competition over who has the best plowing technique.

Farmers compete at a number of smaller events across Ontario in order to qualify for the annual International Plowing Match and Rural Expo, a massive five-day agricultural event held at a different Ontario farm each year.

 

“We generally attract 80, 000 plus people through the five days of the IPM and the tourism industry figures put the economic impact at about $25- to $27-million range for the whole community,” said spokesperson Richard Vivian.

Former PC leader Patrick Brown, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and former Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne take part in a plowing competition at the International Plowing Match in Harriston, Ont., in a series of photos from Sept. 20, 2016.

This year’s event will be in Chatham-Kent, a town of 102,042 between London and Windsor, from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22.

The town is going all out for the celebration of agriculture, which Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope said is “a $3-billion industry” for the municipality.

“We get everyone coming down from the premier to the prime minister,” Hope said, adding he understands what Toronto is going through, since Chatham-Kent itself saw a massive cut to municipal representation with amalgamation in 1998.

“We went from 240 elected officials to 18,” he said.

OK, but what’s plowing?

It’s fine if you didn’t know the basics. Farmers plow a field by cutting the top layer of soil and turning it over, typically by pulling large metal blades behind a tractor or horse. Plowing loosens the soil, helps organic matter decompose and allows farmers to plant their crops and apply fertilizer.

It’s a crucial step that can make or break your crop.

Freshly plowed fields are distinctive for having long, straight lines of turned-over soil called furrows, which look a bit like corrugated cardboard. Furrows are a big deal for the plowing match -- farmers are judged on their quality.

What’s the plowing competition all about?

Plowing is more than just running through soil. The competition has strict criteria when it comes to judging.

“They’re looking at things like straightness of the furrow, there’s conformity, uniformity, distinctness,” said Vivian. Farmers don’t just roll up in their John Deere (tractors) and drive across a field -- people train for this competition, according to Vivian.

The scoring card available on the website says the firmness of the furrows are also tested by having a judge step on them; a furrow that collapses loses points.

Is the event more than just plowing?

It’s far more than plowing! There’s performers and live music, dancers, displays, demonstrations and educational opportunities.

“It’s about understanding what agriculture is all about, where the food is growing from, the technology that is applied to agriculture,” said Hope. “It’s not just about the international plowing match, it’s about understanding culture, cultural diversity in our communities.”

According to the event’s website, there’s a rodeo, auctions and, this year, several planned Guinness World Record attempts, including for the largest egg and spoon race and the largest sugar cube structure. One of the big draws is seeing who’se crowned the Ontario Queen of the Furrow.

Queen of the Furrow?

The Queen of the Furrow competition may seem like a beauty pageant, but it depends on contestants’ farming abilities, including how well they can handle a tractor.

Young women compete on their agricultural know-how and skills. There’s also an interview and public speeches in front of visitors.

Contestants are selected by their regions to compete at the International Plowing Match, Vivian explained. There, “judges will follow them around for three days. I’m sure not every second of every day, it’s spread out over three days.”

Once the field has been cut down to the top five contestants, each do an impromptu speech, and a winner is announced.

“They’re basically an ambassador for agriculture and the OPA throughout Ontario,” said Vivian. “It gives them a platform.”

Past winners have received scholarships, and even a car to use for the year.

So what are a bunch of politicians doing there?

The short answer is they’re there because agriculture is a big deal for much of Ontario.

They’re also there to try their hand at the plowing itself. In the past, one of the main media events for the festival has seen party leaders compete against each other -- often in tractors that match their party colours.

“Andrea Horwath has won a number of years,” including last year, said NDP representative Andrew Schwab, who said he expects her to defend her crown this year.

Here's a glimpse at what the 2018 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo has to offer. It runs Sept. 18 to 22 in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Thanks to @BNR_MediaGroup for its great work on this commercial.
Political expert Duff Conacher, adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa, said it’s an important chance for politicians to reach rural constituents.

“It’s kind of a central place (for) politicians to show that they’re concerned about rural issues,” Conacher said. “Because it’s such a big event. It is a tradition for the leaders to be there and take their shot for a photo opp. Those are the political reasons to do it and clearly they’re showing consensus on that.”

Justin Trudeau puts his son on a tractor at the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo in Walton, Ont., on Sept. 22, 2017.

Is this worth delaying important legislation that determines Toronto’s election process?

It depends on who you ask. Some say that the importance of the event for politicians to connect to rural constituents makes it worth it.

Schwab said NDP members show up to the match in “good numbers” and he doesn’t expect this year will be any different.

“Honestly this is a really popular event, MPPs from all parties show up,” Schwab said. “The government decided not to have (the vote) set that week so that members could attend the plowing match, which should give you a good indication of how popular it is.”

Conacher agreed the event is non-partisan, but he said most people don’t realize the impact delaying the bill will have on the city’s elections.

“People don’t understand how difficult it is to run an election successfully because they just see the result on election day,” Conacher said. “First of all, the clerk’s office has to know whether it’s a 47-seat or 25-seat election, then figure out where to put polling stations based on the different boundaries of the wards, and then also figure out voting lists for each polling station so that people go to the right one.”

“Any delay on this vote is going to create more havoc for the Toronto city election.”