The Farming Industry is one of the most important industries in our province. When the Farming Industry is doing well in Manitoba, our provincial economy does well, and when the Farming Industry is doing poorly, our provincial economy suffers. It is well known that our provincial economy follows the hills and valleys of the farming economy. The farm economy is often referred to as the backbone of the provincial economy. These principles seem lost on the NDP Government. The NDP have so badly mismanaged the farm economy in Manitoba that I am afraid that it will take years to recover.

Let’s look at the mismanagement of the Cattle Industry. When the first case of BSE in Canada set back our Cattle Industry 31/2 years ago, the NDP stated they were committed to increasing the slaughter capacity in Manitoba to ensure that there was a market for Manitoba Beef. After 31/2 years of total mismanagement by the NDP, and millions of taxpayer’s dollars, the slaughter capacity in Manitoba has not increased. Ranchers Choice finally gave up trying to establish a new slaughter facility after more than 3 frustrating years dealing with our Provincial Government. In the meantime, new slaughter facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been established, and again, Manitoba has been left behind.

Next, the Hog Industry was so badly mismanaged that the Olywest consortium is on the verge of giving up on Manitoba. More than 1,200 jobs were planned in Manitoba, all of which go up in smoke if the project collapses. The NDP created a great deal of uncertainty in the Hog Industry when it announced a moratorium on hog production capacity in Manitoba. Instead of targeting old and inefficient hog barns, it targeted new and environmentally approved barns. By announcing the moratorium, old barns needing upgrades were left alone yet new barns which meet all environmental guidelines were not permitted. Does this make sense?

The third strike was the NDP mismanagement of the Canadian Wheat Board issue. Instead of working with the Federal Government, which has sole authority over this issue, and developing acceptable questions to ask farmers about the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, the NDP forged its own questions and interpreted its own results. What was the final result? The Federal Government held its own plebiscite, as it committed to do, and ignored the NDP vote, as it is entitled to do. The fact remains that the Federal Government has sole responsibility over the Canadian Wheat Board, and the NDP should have been working with the Federal Government, instead of trying to play cheap politics with this issue!