Premier Gary Doer billed his government’s inaugural throne speech as having fewer pages and more specifics, “less pomp and more action” than those of his Tory predecessor.
But while the speech from the throne acknowledged the severity of the crisis on Manitoba farms, it provided few details on how the provincial government can help.
The speech focused on the government’s plans for health, education, justice and the environment.
When it came to agriculture, the speech mentioned only that the government plans to work with Ottawa to develop long-term national safety net programs.
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Doer told reporters his government will not kick in money for its share of the recently announced top-up to the Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance program.
The previous provincial government spent $70 million on AIDA advances and help for farmers who couldn’t plant crops because of wet weather this spring.
Doer said the province has contributed its share of farm aid, and said farmers need longer-term solutions than AIDA.
“We’re very close to having an announcement in agriculture, in terms of our programs,” he told reporters.
Doer also told reporters that farm aid spending has contributed to red ink in the province’s books.
The government recently hired Deloitte and Touche to take an independent look at the province’s finances. In a preliminary report, auditors forecast a provincial deficit of $262 million to $417 million.
“We have to take long-term measures to deal with the fiscal situation in Manitoba,” said Doer.
Don Dewar, president of farm lobby group Keystone Agricultural Producers, said the premier seems to take the farm income crisis seriously. But the province needs to demonstrate its willingness to help pay for effective safety nets.
“We’re looking for support for agriculture,” Dewar said. “Maybe we need to be encouraging our government to increase their spending a bit.”
Rosann Wowchuk said she will start negotiating safety nets at the agriculture ministers’ meeting Dec. 8 and 9 in Toronto.
When asked whether her government would spend more money on safety nets, Wowchuk said the government will assess the situation when it gets more details about the federal safety net plan.
Tory agriculture critic Jack Penner said the government should spend part of its $250 million fiscal stabilization fund on help for farmers. He said the throne speech showed a lack of plans for agriculture.
