Agriculture got brief mentions in the provincial government’s throne speech Nov. 21, in which Premier Wab Kinew’s government outlined its priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
One mention appeared as the speech turned to Manitoba’s economy. The government committed to investments in agricultural innovation.
“Manitoba’s agricultural producers work hard to feed families in Manitoba and around the world,” listeners heard. “We will respect these producers and partner with the agricultural industry to invest in agricultural science, innovation, resilience and sustainability.”
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Why it matters: Ag issues were skimmed in the provincial government’s stated priorities for the coming legislative session.
Another item of interest was the promise of “a significant new policy to help the agricultural industry by lowering costs for producers and ranchers.”
No details were given at the time.
On Nov. 24, the announcement dropped. The government increased the forage Crown land rent reduction, which had been introduced as a temporary measure by the previous government, from 33 per cent to 55 per cent for 2024.
“This rent reduction will essentially freeze rates to the same as 2023 and will provide producers with over $2 million in support,” Kinew said in that release.
Earlier this year, the Progressive Conservatives announced they would lower 2023 leases by 50 per cent. Rents were slated to creep back up to 33 per cent of the pre-reduction rate next year.
Dale Myhre, a Crane River-area farmer and Crown land leaseholder, called the announcement a “lifeline.”
“With this reduction in Crown lease rents, beef producers have gone from feeling desperation to feeling hope again,” he said in the same Nov. 24 release.
Crown lands have been a topic of concern for the beef sector for half a decade, following sweeping regulatory changes that proved highly unpopular among ranchers.
The issue featured in the NDP’s campaign and Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn has promised further review of the system.
Shipping
The government committed to revitalizing the Port of Churchill, an item of significant interest to farmers.
“Through meaningful infrastructure investments, we can ensure that Manitoba is a real partner in interprovincial and global trade,” the speech read. “With northern Manitobans, our government will invest in trade corridors and ensure the Port of Churchill helps us fulfill our economic potential by making Manitoba a maritime province.”
Rural interest
While little of the speech was overtly dedicated to agriculture, rural social issues such as health care got more attention.
The speech echoed NDP campaign-trail promises to reopen the emergency room in Eriksdale, expand spinal surgical capacity at the Brandon Regional Health Centre and launch a new mobile MRI unit for northern Manitoba.
The government has a goal to provide better emergency services and reduce wait times for rural Manitobans, listeners heard.
The speech also cited staffing challenges in rural facilities and said the province would create health care training opportunities in rural and northern centres to help meet that need.
It promised to help Manitoba families convert to geothermal heat pumps. That tied into an election promise to convert 5,000 Manitoba homes to geothermal heating.
Kinew clarified that the speech referred to getting Manitobans access to the federal Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program and would only allow conversions for households currently using oil furnaces.
“There are about 2,500 homes within that category,” he said, adding that 90 per cent of those are in rural or northern Manitoba.
He said the government is looking to do more on that file and hopes the program can be expanded to include homes with natural gas heating.
The speech also touched on rural crime, infrastructure and multi-year funding for municipalities, issues laid out by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in the lead up to the election earlier this year.
AMM president Kam Blight said he was pleased with what he heard in the speech.
“I would say it’s definitely positive for municipalities, and specifically rural municipalities,” he said. “The throne speech doesn’t get into a lot of specifics, but it’s very high level and it touched on our four key pillars of the election campaign.”
Blight added that he would have liked more details about infrastructure funding.
“I think that’s something that we’re definitely going to be pushing,” he said. “We will be trying to carry that conversation forward.”
