KAP Presents Response to 'Finding Common Ground' Report to Government
Farmscape for August 29, 2001 (Episode 754) Keystone Agricultural Producers has told the provincial government land use planning is key to ensuring a sustainable livestock and agriculture industry in Manitoba. Last week Keystone Agricultural Producers outlined its response to the Provincial Livestock Stewardship Panel's 'Finding Common Ground' report to representatives of three provincial government ministries. The document has been endorsed by all of KAP's member commodity groups and outlines how agriculture feels government should react to the report's recommendations. KAP Vice President Weldon Newton suggests assurances are needed that issues addressed at the local level are within the jurisdiction of local authorities. Clip-Weldon Newton-Keystone Agricultural Producers Certainly there needs to be some small changes made in the current way that the conditional use process is put in place. We see what is going on and the media circus actually around some of these proposals and we're concerned with that because we think this has implications for the family farm down the road. Who wants to go through a process where basically you're publicly humiliated by opponents if you propose to expand or start a livestock operation. This needs to be looked at, at how that process can be approved and also the operation needs some relative certainty that when you go into it that you may have to spend several thousands of dollars to supply the data that some of the municipalities are requiring. If you go through that process, meet all the conditions of both the municipalities and the department of conservation, we feel that you should have pretty good certainty that your proposal is going to be approved. Newton hopes the fact that KAP's response is endorsed by a wide spectrum of agriculture will carry some weight with provincial authorities. He says indications are that the province will act on each recommendation over a period of time and he expects further discussion. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.