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BROCKVILLE - The Lanark Landowners Association set Thurs., Oct. 6 as the date for its latest showdown with rural bureaucrats, this one aimed at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Unit.

LLA president Randy Hillier said he’s tired of playing cat-and-mouse with health unit inspectors who’ve threatened all summer to crack down on Saturday farmers’ market vendors in Perth and Carleton Place who, they feel, don’t meet food safety regulations.

Hillier noted LLA supporters have gathered at the markets on a number of occasions to block intervention by inspectors who’ve never shown up.

The latest false alarm was on Sat., Sept. 24 when the LLA got word that inspectors would descend on the two markets backed by police officers in case of trouble. Although vendors and their LLA protectors braced themselves, the raid didn’t happen.

Hillier said vendors and their supporters won’t wait any longer for the "intimidation" to end. Instead, they took the fight downtown to the health unit’s front door.

Medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner refused to allow the protestors to set up their market in the health unit's parking lot. City police and security guards were on hand to prevent the take-over although space across the street from the headquarters in the city's north end was reserved for the protest, which saw a small market set up and protestors handing out ungraded eggs to passing motorists.

Hillier invited unit managers to join the LLA for meaningful dialogue before the protest occurs.

"We shall stand together in a strong and determined, but peacefully disobedient stance," Hillier warned. "We will stop the bureaucracy’s attempt to destroy another facet of rural Ontario."

The campaign against the health unit is reminiscent of previous LLA interventions, including how it showed its dissatisfaction with policies relating to deer protection by blockading MNR offices in Kemptville.

Vendors accuse inspectors of wanting to run farmers’ markets in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties like major chain grocery stores, selling many of the same ultra-processed products.

They ridicule the list of products approved for sale at markets by the health unit: Cold drinks in the original containers; frozen confections in the original packages, and commercially pre-packaged non-hazardous food such as chips and chewing gum.

Farm products such as honey and fruit, baked goods, home preserves and eggs are also permitted. But there are some tight restrictions concerning wrapping and labeling.

The product most carefully scrutinized is eggs, which now must be graded, refrigerated, and labeled. In addition, cartons can no longer be re-used.

Meanwhile, vendors point out, if consumers travel to the farm gate, none of the restrictions apply. Vendors want the farm gate approach extended to farmers markets.

A violation can be as simple as not having filled out a new "Notice of Intention to Operate a Temporary Food Premises" form which allows the health unit to track vendors.

Several vendors have stated publicly they’re ready to go to jail to back their resistance of health unit rules.

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