A thorny issue will soon land on the Manitoba government.
The province’s general farm group wants the government to collect a nominal fee from anyone lodging a complaint with Manitoba Environment. Keystone Agricultural Producers recently passed a motion to that effect at a general council meeting in Brandon, Man.
In the preamble to the motion, it was suggested that Manitoba Environment has been swamped with “frivolous and unnecessary” complaints. The idea is that the fee would be refunded only if the complaint proved valid.
Complaints about livestock operations have aggravated farmers in the Interlake region of Manitoba. It was from there that the call for a nominal fee originated.
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Melvyn Eyolfson, KAP’s executive director for District 10, said several producers approached him on the issue. Besides posing a nuisance to livestock owners, unwarranted complaints cost the province time and money, which translates into an expense for taxpayers, Eyolfson said.
It will be a while before the province makes a decision on KAP’s request. However, Norm Brandson, deputy environment minister, said it will receive “serious consideration.”
Brandson described KAP as a thoughtful group in terms of its input during consultations on various issues. At the same time, he said the province has to be “darn good and sure” that it doesn’t discourage legitimate complaints. The collection of a nominal fee could be a first in Manitoba, Brandson said.
“I’m not aware that the government does this in any circumstances. If you were to start a precedent, you would want to be pretty sure you were doing the right thing.”
Precedent set
But there is at least one case where the province collects a fee from people lodging complaints related to agriculture. The Manitoba Farm Practices Protection Board charges $50 (plus GST) to look into complaints about odor, noise, dust and smoke.
Gordon MacKenzie, a director of the board, said the fee was implemented five years ago to discourage frivolous or vexacious complaints. He thinks the fee has worked well: “Nobody has complained to us about it.”
That doesn’t mean the proposed fee by KAP will pass unchallenged. Gerry Dube, a farmer from La Broquerie, Man., described the idea as “unfair and unjustified.”
If a fee is levied, the credibility of the government will suffer in terms of its willingness to act on farm-related complaints, Dube said. And the fee would further undermine the recourse of anyone spotting environmental infractions, he said.
Dube is already skeptical of Manitoba Environment’s willingness to tackle those infractions.
“If you feel a complaint is legitimate, don’t go to Environment,” he said. “Go to the press.”
Dube and his wife followed their own advice this spring after finding dead pigs illegally dumped in an open pit. Media reports prompted action from Manitoba Environment, which laid charges against a swine production company for the offence.
