Political resignations | Provincial ag ministry rolls out forage shortfall program despite upheaval in other ministries
Manitoba farm groups are growing anxious about the chaos within the provincial government.
They fear that paralysis and distraction could ensue from the ongoing turmoil.
Fortunately for most, no major pieces of agriculture legislation or regulatory overhaul appear to be before the legislature, and regular business seems to be getting done.
“At first there was concern about the excess moisture issues we’ve been facing, that (the political crisis) would slow it down, but that hasn’t happened,” said Melinda German, manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.
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“We didn’t have a change in agriculture minister, so thankfully that didn’t change for us.”
Five ministers resigned from premier Greg Selinger’s cabinet Nov. 3 after publicly expressing pessimism about winning the next provincial election if he stayed in place.
Many NDP MLAs have not publicly expressed support for Selinger, and some members of the provincial NDP executive have suggested he should “consider” the impact for the party of him continuing to lead.
Selinger has refused to step aside and plans to face any rivals who run for the party leadership at the party’s convention in March.
Agriculture minister Ron Kosty-shyn has not been part of the cabinet insurrection.
Cattle producers were pleased to see the agriculture department announce a forage shortfall program Nov. 12 that would be covered by AgriRecovery. The announcement was made during the midst of the crisis.
As well, many crop farmers were relieved to see the agriculture department announce an extension of nutrient spreading Nov. 7, which occurred during the full fury of the crisis. Keystone Agricultural Producers had called for the extension because of the late harvest.
However, some fear that longer-term initiatives might be slowed or stalled.
Andrew Dickson, manager of the Manitoba Pork Council, said he hoped progress would resume on a hog mortality insurance program that has been in the works. Provincial agriculture officials have been working on it, but it has not yet gone forward.
“It has been sitting around on the books for almost two years,” said Dickson.
“It’s hard to know how it’s all going to unfold.”
There has been concern that the political crisis will hobble or paralyze the government.
The March leadership contest could distract the premier and other politicians from the nitty-gritty of government and ministerial management, and some ministries have new ministers, including the all-important finance department. Any significant funding has to be approved there first.
The Manitoba government has long had an uneasy relationship with large parts of the farming community. It is commonplace in agricultural circles to hear suggestions that the almost entirely urban-based NDP has little interest in farming realities.
As well, policies like the hog barn moratorium and legislation such as the “Save Lake Winnipeg” act have outraged many farmers, who have felt unjustly blamed for environmental problems.
That brings up an ironic reality for Colin Craig, the Manitoba-Sask-atchewan director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation: sometimes little government action is preferable to robust activity.
“The good news is that when you have politicians more focused on infighting like this, that means that they are not able to dream up new ways of spending our money,” said Craig.
However, nobody should believe that it’s “business as usual” for the government, especially if new issues arise.
“Whether it’s transporting grain or other crops, or the province’s deficit, or challenges in the health-care system, when (the premier) wakes up each day and has to focus on media interviews about his own leadership, it’s time and energy not spent on the other matters,” said Craig.
