Calling for action to help the hog industry in Manitoba

In question period today, I called on the government to act to help the hog industry in our province. I repeatedly asked Rosann Wowchuk and the Premier to table their plans to deal with the present situation in the hog industry. This they refused to do.

The hog industry in Manitoba is reeling under the combined impacts of the United States country of origin labeling and the recent H1N1 Flu Virus. The Minister is refusing to stand behind the Manitoba hog industry. If you are a hog producer in Manitoba without a firm contract with Maple Leaf or Hytek Ltd, you may be in deep trouble. And when I talk to pork producers, they are commenting on how this government does not appear to care about hog farmers in our province.

Hog prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have tumbled thirty-eight percent from where they were one year ago and they were low then. Hog shipments to the United States are down from 25,000 hogs per week a year ago to 1,000 hogs per week today. Manitoba hog producers are facing grim prospects. I repeatedly called on the Manitoba Government to table its contingency plan now to help the industry, and the NDP refused to do this.

It is very sad, when so many hog producers in Manitoba are in difficulty, the Minister will not even provide a plan. When I went further to ask about whether there was going to be an offer of a buyout for producers on the brink, or at very least whether the Minister would work with all parties in the Legislature to promote a summer of barbeques there was not even a positive response to either approach.

NDP could do more to prevent H1N1 flu infecting Manitoba hogs

This afternoon, I called on Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture to provide assistance to the hog industry.

At the top of the issues today is the threat from the H1N1 flu virus. I believe we must do everything we can to take measures that will ensure Manitoba hogs do not get exposed to the H1N1 virus. Already hogs in a farm in Central Alberta have been infected with the virus when a farm worker carrying the virus returned from Mexico and visited the hog barn while he was infectious. As early as last Wednesday, I called on the Minister of Agriculture to ask people coming to Manitoba from Mexico to avoid going to hog barns for five days after arriving in Manitoba. This measure would have prevented a similar situation to that in Alberta, but the Manitoba Minister of Agriculture refused to support it.

We must do everything that we can do ensure that Manitoba’s hogs remain free of the H1N1 Virus. While I am upset with the Chinese Government’s actions to refuse entry of all Canadian hogs into the country, and I do not believe this action was necessary, we do need to do everything possible to keep Manitoba’s hogs healthy to avoid any further trade embargoes that would create significant hardships for our hog industry. I believe the Minister should work with Manitoba Pork to do everything possible to guarantee that hogs in Manitoba will not become infected with the H1N1 virus. Sadly when put to the Minister, she replied "No we can't".

Last year, the Government imposed Bill 17, which has put the industry into a straightjacket. It was a bill that reduced equity and limited the industry’s ability to innovate. Now with low prices for hogs and the recent threats to Manitoba’s markets, the industry needs all the help it can get.

Herm Martens, a hog farmer, and reeve of the R.M. of Morris said “We feel that we’ve been abandoned by the NDP in this province. It is time for the provincial government to come forward with a plan to help those who are still surviving in the hog industry before it is too late."

NDP block passage of Diabetes Reporting Act

This morning the NDP blocked the passage, at second reading, of Bill 206, the Diabetes Reporting Act. This act, described fully at http://www.manitobaliberals.ca/2008/12/addressing-diabetes-epidemic-in.html
is a vital step forward in addressing the epidemic of diabetes in Manitoba. It will require mandatory reporting of diabetes cases and provide up to date information on the extent of the diabetes epidemic in our province.

Sadly, after a full hour's debate on this bill, Jennifer Howard, the NDP MLA for Fort Rouge used the NDP's strategy to block passage of bills they do not like. Instead of allowing the bill to go to a vote, Jennifer Howard, kept on talking until the time allowed for debate on the bill had expired. Her move has almost certainly blocked passage of this bill in this session.

The NDP move is a very sad and unworthy one. As Tony Dratowany, who watched the debate commented "It's a real letdown for northern Manitoba." Of course this bill will help people all over Manitoba, not just northern Manitoba, although information to date suggests that the incidence of diabetes is highest in northern Manitoba. Establishing the incidence in different parts of the province is important and vital if resources are to be directed to where they are most needed. Knowing the incidence of diabetes on a monthly basis is vital to being able to determine whether interventions are effective in preventing diabetes.