The loss of Manitoba’s sugar beet industry continues to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those who grew the crop.
The once thriving industry withered away after Rogers Sugar closed its processing plant at Winnipeg two years ago.
Kevin Pankratz had about $100,000 invested in the specialized equipment needed to grow sugar beets. Loss of the industry forced him to sell that equipment at “fire sale prices,” he said.
Growers now want compensation for losses. They’re seeking $13.4 million from Ottawa and the Manitoba government.
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Ken Yuill, president of the Manitoba Sugar Beet Producers Association, said the province’s sugar beet industry was sacrificed a few years ago during trade negotiations with the United States. He said Ottawa failed to keep the border open for Canadian refined beet sugar moving south.
Yuill said growers in Manitoba wrote a letter to Ralph Goodale, then federal agriculture minister, asking for compensation soon after Rogers closed its plant at Winnipeg.
They were told by Goodale’s successor, Lyle Vanclief, that Ottawa wanted to revive the industry.
Manitoba’s sugar beet growers still hope the industry can be revived, but they want compensation in the meantime. Ontario and Quebec sugar beet growers were compensated when the industry left those provinces. To be fair, a similar level of compensation should be paid to Manitoba growers, Yuill said.
