Farm and rural leaders are making a list and checking it twice as the provincial election unfolds in Manitoba.
They have some issues they believe must be addressed by whichever party is in power following the June 3 provincial election.
Education taxes on farmland, water management and rural land use planning are paramount in their minds.
Weldon Newton, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, and Stuart Briese, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, both cited education taxes on farmland and production buildings as one of the most important issues they want addressed by the province.
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They insist the current tax structure places an unfair burden on producers. They want the province to adjust the tax load so it is shared more equitably among Manitoban residents.
Newton and Briese also put water management high on the list of issues important for rural Manitoba. Besides better funding for drainage, they want continued improvements in how drainage is planned.
Making drainage decisions on a watershed basis is among the efforts Newton would like to see extended in Manitoba. That kind of planning gives local residents a chance to help shape decisions that affect them.
A water management strategy also needs to cover water storage, and how that could benefit producers, Newton said.
Briese and Ray Timmerman, a Manitoba Pork Council director, see a need for more improvements to land use planning in Manitoba.
Timmerman said bylaws that control development still can vary widely among municipalities in the province. Some bylaws make it difficult for producers wanting to expand or build new livestock operations.
Timmerman said hog producers continue to be singled out for attacks from critics as being environmentally unfriendly. A clear and consistent set of rules across the province for intensive livestock developments would help avoid conflicts.
He would also like more effort to make the public aware of contributions that the hog industry and agriculture make to the province’s economy.
Farm programs are another topic of importance for agriculture. Newton said a commitment is needed from the province to fully fund its share of the federal agricultural policy framework, since it will shape farm programs across Canada for the next few years.
“Producers are putting up a lot of money for this program and governments have to come up with their share.”
Meanwhile, Briese said policing costs are a growing concern in Manitoba. Several larger centres are struggling with the costs, he said, especially those policed by the RCMP.
In situations where local officers get involved in work related to national security or large scale drug investigations, municipalities are concerned they are paying for costs that should be borne by a higher level of government.
