By MICHAEL JIGGINS Staff Writer

Under a gloriously blue, sunny spring sky the 2006 Brockville Farmers' Market sprouted to life Saturday morning.

Brockville Mayor Ben TeKamp was on hand to snip a ribbon and piper Stewart Nimmo performed at a ceremony to commence the 173rd season.

Amidst the celebration, however, market chairman Marsha Countryman conceded fears over proposed new provincial food safety guidelines to regulate vendors still loom like a dark cloud over the market.

"Agriculture on a whole is very much in a turmoil with new water regulations, new nutrient management regulations, health regulations, environmental regulations," Countryman said in an interview. "We're just being bombarded. It's very difficult."

After several run-ins between the area market vendors and local health unit officials last year, the provincial Ministry of Health has produced draft guidelines to regulate farmers' markets.

That draft has stirred controversy locally as board of health member Bill Gooch is upset staff at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit sent a response on the draft to the ministry and has yet to share its opinions with the board. (See related story on page A3.)

Gooch said last week from what he's seen in the document if "the draft suggestions become law, it would mean the end of farmers' markets."

Some of the proposed regulations in that document, which Countryman has reviewed, have the potential to dramatically change what's for sale Saturdays in Brockville's market.

"A lot of people are thinking that because of the new health regulations the market will not survive," noted Countryman. "It will survive, but it may not be the same as it's always been."

Of particular concern are calls for public washrooms, along with each station required to have refrigeration and a wash basin.

Countryman added there's an issue about a proposed requirement that food come from "an approved source."

"It leaves it wide open for interpretation," said Countryman, adding her fear is, "If they go to the heavy-handed extreme, that everybody has to have a licensed kitchen, have it inspected four or five times a year."

Jerry Flaro and his wife Claudette have come from Cornwall to sell jams and jellies at the market for the past six years.

"We're very concerned about it," he said. "There's a lot of stress on some of the people here about the board of health and all the new regulations coming in."

Flaro, who said his goods are fully labelled including a list of ingredients, admitted he's seen markets where some vendors have "unsanitary" booths.

"But you can go into a grocery store and see the same thing," he said.

He's worried the final regulations will be needlessly onerous, putting some vendors out of business.

"The public are so behind us that they come down to buy and discuss it with us and say, 'We've been buying here for years and years and never had a problem,'" noted Flaro.

Not all of the dozen or so vendors at Saturday's market - a number that grows to more than two dozen when it's in full swing - were preoccupied with Queen's Park.

"I'm not too concerned because I don't think those regulations are something they can enforce, or should enforce," said Roshan Aubin, who sells organic products from her Spencerville-area farm.

"There are a lot more unhealthy places around. Markets have been like this forever and a day and I think they should be left like that."

Aubin said she hadn't heard much talk among vendors about the draft regulations Saturday, but noted the attention has had one positive spin-off.

"My sales went up because customers wanted to come and support me," she smiled.

George and Carol Pike of Oxford Station are regular visitors to the Brockville market, where they said they find quality products unavailable elsewhere.

They said some of the proposed regulations they've heard about "are taking things a little bit to the extreme" and aren't practical for rural markets to implement.

"We would be very concerned if it got to the point where we didn't have a market. ... One thing we like about it is you're buying local products at the market and there's a good variety to choose from," said George Pike.

Countryman noted she did have a chance to offer her input to the local health unit before staff responded to the ministry, which pleased her.

Market representatives in Perth and Carleton Place were also consulted, according to the health unit.

"I'm very hopeful, but there are days when I wonder," she said when asked if she believes the new regulations will be reasonable.

"It would be nice to see the issue settled because the uncertainty does leave a cloud over the vendors and potential vendors," Countryman added.