Manitoba’s Tory leader stole a long-running gag from talk show host David Letterman to press the NDP government to start the spring legislative session.
Last week, Stuart Murray counted down his top 10 reasons for the provincial legislature to get back to work, including inadequate education and health funds, need for tax relief, and the controversy over the Buhler tractor plant that may move to Fargo, North Dakota.
But Murray’s number one reason why premier Gary Doer should call a spring session? The farm crisis.
Murray said farmers need more support to help get this spring’s crop in the ground.
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Doer and his cabinet spent last week traveling through southern Manitoba, meeting with locals and making announcements.
Floodway widened
Crews have begun widening the mouth of the floodway around Winnipeg for the Red River.
The federal and provincial governments agreed to spend $1.6 million improving the floodway inlet after recommendations from an international joint commission on flooding in the Red River Valley.
Doer said the project is just the beginning of upgrades to the floodway to prepare for future large floods similar to the flood of 1998.
The province had two options to prepare for the next big flood: fix the floodway around Winnipeg, or create a retention dike to hold water back further south of the city.
Farmers in the Red River Valley favored the first option since they felt it would be more likely to help drain floodwaters from their fields quickly.
Poultry workers unionize
Workers at Manitoba’s farmer-owned poultry processing plant have become unionized.
The Manitoba Labor Board ruled March 7 that the 330 people who work at Granny’s Poultry Co-operative Ltd. in Blumenort, Man., will now be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
The union began organizing at the plant last fall. But ballots from a Nov. 15 vote were never counted because of dispute between the union and company about labor practices.
The Manitoba Labor Board heard the complaints and ruled the union has enough support to represent workers.
“The poultry industry across North America has a poor record when it comes to paying and treating their employees fairly,” said union president Bernard Christophe.
“We want to make sure that Granny’s is one of the better places to work in the poultry industry.”
Granny’s and the union must now negotiate a contract.
The union also represents works at Dunn-Rite Foods, the other major poultry processor in Manitoba.
Hog apprentices wanted
Workers in Manitoba hog barns can now formally become apprentices in the trade of looking after pigs.
Manitoba’s education minister recently announced the two-year apprenticeship program delivered through Assiniboine Community College.
Drew Caldwell said the program will help address the hog industry’s labor shortage.
Students with little or no experience with hogs can become certified after two years of training.
Most of the training will occur in hog barns, but students will also take technical courses from the college.
Workers with years of proven industry experience can apply to be certified through a process called “trades qualification.”
For more information, call 204-945-3337 or 800-282-8069.
