When Lake Winnipeg commercial fisher Bruce Benson was asked to talk about Manitoba’s Water Protection Act, he did something few farmers have done.
He found the act and read it.
The act, Bill 22, is expected to become law in early December and gives a new government ministry vast new powers to control water use and water pollution in the province.
If the act simply protected and improved the province’s water supplies, most farmers and fishers would cheer.
But Benson and Manitoba’s main farm groups have been alarmed by the list of penalties for breaking regulations and the lack of details about what those regulations will be.
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“It frightens me,” said Benson.
Peter Mah of the Manitoba Pork Council said producers would like to see an early draft of proposed regulations before the Water Protection Act is passed, because they’re going to have to live with the consequences.
That isn’t likely to happen, because the act will probably pass third reading before Christmas. But farm groups have encouraged members to read the legislation so they can at least see a skeleton of the province’s new approach to water protection.
Bill 22 can be obtained on the internet at http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/sess/b022e.php or by visiting the Manitoba government’s website at www.gov.mb.ca and searching for Water Protection Act.
Although the bill has been criticized for its lack of detail, that is part of its nature as “enabling” or “framework” legislation. The purpose of the act is to create a skeleton upon which a comprehensive set of regulations can be hung.
Water regulations are now scattered through many pieces of provincial legislation. The Water Protection Act brings most together under the same roof, which will be administered by the ministry of water stewardship.
The act gives the government powers to:
- set water quality standards, objectives and guidelines.
- establish “water quality management zones” throughout the province.
- set regulations for controlling invasive species.
- establish water conservation regulations.
The act also grants the water stewardship minister the power to declare a serious water shortage in the province or any part of it, which would allow him to issue emergency orders controlling water usage.
These orders would trump a permit or a licence issued under the present Water Rights Act, which many farmers rely upon to guarantee their water supply.
It also gives the government the right to create watershed management authorities and to create a Manitoba Water Council.
The water council provision contains no guarantee of a farmer representative, but says its five members should be “representative of the regional diversity of Manitoba.”
A Water Stewardship Fund will be created, taking public money and granting it to projects designed to improve Manitoba’s water.
Water quality enforcement officers will be given the power to search any building and farm, other than a house or home, “at any reasonable time.”
Although the nature of offences against water regulations is not described, the penalties are.
A first offence by an individual can bring a fine of up to $50,000. Subsequent offences can bring fines of up to $100,000. An offender also risks six months in jail.
For a corporation that breaks water protection rules the fine can be up to $500,000 for a first offence and $1,000,000 for subsequent offences.
