Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision at Rideau Hall on Friday morning. The ceremony followed a week of many changes for the Liberal government, as both Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped down from their positions.

Other appointments announced at the ceremony include Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid as Minister of Prairies Economic Development, a role previously held by Dan Vandal. Duguid is also Minister of Sport.

Sherbrooke MP Élisabeth Brière is Minister of National Revenue, a post previously held by Marie-Claude Bibeau. Briere has been parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health.

Beaches-East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was appointed Minister of Housing.  Joanne Thompson, MP for St. John’s East, is Minister of Seniors.

The post MacAulay to remain Agriculture Minister amid cabinet shuffle appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Premier David Eby, who assumed the post last month following John Horgan’s resignation, on Wednesday shuffled the provincial cabinet and named Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis to handle the ag and food portfolio.

As ag minister, Alexis replaces Saanich South MLA Lana Popham, who had handled the file since 2017. Popham was shuffled Wednesday to the tourism, arts, culture and sport file.

A teacher by profession, Alexis has previously served as a vice-president for the Mission Chamber of Commerce and for the B.C. Winter Games. After a stint as a school trustee (2005-11), she served as a councilor (2014-18) and mayor (2018-20) for the city of Mission.

She moved into provincial politics with the 2020 election, in which she unseated Liberal incumbent Simon Gibson, whose party had held the Abbotsford-Mission riding since its formation in 2009.

“I am thrilled to get started, rolling up my sleeves now,” Alexis, a first-time cabinet minister, said Wednesday on Facebook, adding that having an agriculture minister in the Fraser Valley “will resonate with local residents.”

Relative to its land base, the Fraser Valley plays a significantly outsized role in B.C. agriculture, representing almost a third of the province’s farms and over a third of the province’s gross farm receipts. It also has over a third of the province’s poultry and egg farms and over half of the province’s dairy farms.

Eby’s other cabinet appointments of interest to farmers include:

• North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma, leading a new ministry of emergency management and climate readiness;
• Vancouver-Fairview MLA George Heyman, returning as minister for environment and climate change strategy;
• Surrey-Fleetwood MLA Jagrup Brar, as minister of state for trade;
• Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen, formerly minister of state for lands and natural resource operations, now minister of water, land and resource stewardship (fisheries);
• Parksville-Qualicum MLA and farmer/businessman Adam Walker, formerly parliamentary secretary for the new economy, now parliamentary secretary for sustainable economy; and
• Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell, returning as parliamentary secretary for rural development.

B.C.’s ag sector, and the Fraser Valley’s in particular, is still recovering from last fall’s destructive floods, which Eby, in his mandate letter to Alexis on Wednesday, described as the largest agricultural disaster in the province’s history.

The province — and again, the Fraser Valley in particular — has also been battered by outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in its poultry and egg sectors this year.

The province has seen 75 outbreaks of high-path avian flu in domestic birds (poultry and non-poultry) so far in 2022, affecting an estimated 1.18 million birds in total. That count includes 46 outbreaks on commercial poultry operations in the past four weeks alone.

Eby’s mandate letter to Alexis calls for her to continue to work on recommendations of the provincial Food Security Task Force to “make B.C. a leader in agricultural innovation, resilience and food security in the face of emerging challenges of supply chain disruption, global inflation, rising costs and the impacts of climate change.”

The letter also calls for her to “support the resilience of B.C.’s food system through an emergency preparedness strategy for food security,” working with the emergency management and climate readiness ministry.

It also calls on Alexis to “work with industry to identify agricultural best practices that reduce carbon pollution and support their adoption across the sector.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Former Mission, B.C. mayor named province’s ag minister appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Speller, the MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of what’s now Haldimand-Norfolk from 1988 to 2004, died Thursday at age 65. A cause of death wasn’t given in his obituary Friday.

Speller served in Jean Chretien’s Liberal government as parliamentary secretary for international trade from 1998 to 2000, and chaired Chretien’s 2001 caucus task force on future opportunities in farming.

Speller also served as a member of the Commons standing committees on agriculture and agri-food (2000-03), health (2002) and foreign affairs and international trade (1997-2000), chairing the latter’s subcommittee on international trade, trade disputes and investment (1997-98).

After Paul Martin replaced Chretien as Liberal leader and prime minister, he named Speller as his first minister of agriculture and agri-food, replacing Lyle Vanclief.

The ag portfolio went to Speller in December 2003, just a few months after the discovery of Canada’s first case of BSE and the resulting closure of the U.S. and other countries to Canadian beef and live cattle.

As ag minister Speller spearheaded a $930 million Transitional Industry Support Program and arranged another $65 million to shore up shortfalls in drought-related claims made in 2002 under the Canadian Farm Income Program. Of that $995 million, about $680 million was directed to producers of cattle and other ruminants affected by the BSE-related border closures.

Speller was also agriculture minister during Canada’s first-ever outbreak of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in commercial birds, an H7N3 strain found in chickens in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley in 2004. The strain raised further concern when it was found to have infected two workers involved in depopulating affected flocks.

Speller had held his southwestern Ontario riding for the Liberals in four consecutive elections, but was defeated in 2004, 2006 and 2011 by the Conservatives’ Diane Finley and was replaced as Martin’s ag minister by Andy Mitchell after the 2004 election.

Leslyn Lewis, the current Conservative MP for Haldimand-Norfolk, said Friday on Twitter she was “shocked and saddened” to learn of Speller’s passing.

Former Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale, who served as Martin’s finance minister and as Chretien’s minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, hailed Speller on Friday as “a good friend, a dedicated parliamentarian and a relentless fighter for farmers. I admired his tenacity.”

The Liberals’ current agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, also writing on Twitter Friday, praised Speller as an “excellent ambassador for Canadian agriculture.”

A visitation for Speller is to be held Tuesday at Hagersville, Ont., about 35 km south of Hamilton, followed by a private graveside service. Speller’s obituary asks that memorial donations be directed to the Canadian Cancer Society. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Former federal agriculture minister Bob Speller, 65 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Crown lands were gridlocked to start off the year. The province froze all new lease agreements or unit transfers as of fall 2018, after changes to the Crown Lands Act got royal assent.

Those legislative changes were, in themselves, the latest in a process that stretches years. In late 2017, the province promised an end to the previous points allocation system, instead promising allocation by tender. That was later shifted to an open auction after a push from the Manitoba Beef Producers before being enshrined in the fall 2018 legislative changes.

The province then put a freeze on the system to develop new regulations to govern the new system, the province said.

In February, ranchers became alarmed after hearing hints that unit transfers might be on the chopping block under the new rules.

Some of those ranches owed most of their operation (sometimes over 90 per cent of their land base) to those leased lands, they argued, saying those ranches became largely useless if rights to the leased land could not be transferred with the sale of the farm.

The loss of unit transfers would wreak havoc with succession and retirement plans, they argued.

The province, meanwhile, argued that producers were improperly inflating their land values through unit transfers, something they hoped to put a stop to in the new regulations.

Consultations continued into spring and summer. Livestock producers across the board pushed for a larger herd cap, arguing that the previous 4,800 animal unit month eligibility limit no longer reflected a viable herd size.

Lease terms also raised debate, with ranchers worrying that a short lease term might negatively impact long-term farm planning, while other groups, including members of the opposition political parties and Keystone Agricultural Producers, worried that decades-long terms locked out new producers to the industry.

Rancher outrage

The issue exploded back into the spotlight in late September with the release of the long-promised regulations.

The rules sparked immediate opposition. Northern ranchers protested the shorter terms (reduced from 50 years to 15), lack of unit transfers (although family transfers were preserved in the new regulations) and rental rate increases.

Producers claimed that the regulations would spell the end of their farms.

Producers who owed most of their land base to Crown lands would face an uncertain future under the new system, they argued. Under the rules, they said, producers would have to compete for most of their land base in an open auction every 15 years, and might have that land suddenly swept out from under them if they lose. Calls quickly emerged for a first right of renewal to be added to the regulations.

Producers also protested an expected 300 per cent hike in rental rates. The province changed rental rates to reflect cattle market prices, along with pasture capacity and 3.5 per cent provincial rate of return.

Next year will be a transitional year for the rate increases, the province said, in an effort to lower the financial shock for producers. The hike will increase rates from $2.13 per animal unit month to over $7 next year. The province argues those rates have been frozen since 2014, and must increase to recoup administration costs.

Northern ranchers, however, argue the increase is too sudden and will put them under undue financial strain, particularly in light of the feed shortage impacting many of the same Crown land heavy regions.

Other issues include the province’s step back from land improvement compensation. New regulations also gave outgoing leaseholders 30 days to remove infrastructure improvements (something critics argued would be a hard sell when leases expired in winter) or reach a deal with the new leaseholder to purchase those improvements. Critics argued the system will increase conflict between ranchers.

The new rules did allow both one renewal and one transfer for existing leases to grandfather in the system. That renewal would bring lease terms up to at least 2034. Transfers would give the new leaseholder rights for the remaining term of the lease until at least 2034, but the new leaseholder would then have to compete for the lease under the new rules. Ranchers worry that will create a “race for the door,” as outgoing ranchers rush to sell their ranches while their terms have enough time on them to be attractive.

The issue drew over 350 concerned leaseholders to Ste. Rose du Lac Oct. 2 for a last-minute meeting. The meeting quickly turned heated, with producers arguing that the shorter terms and uncertain lease rollover would create a hostile environment for anyone securing financing for their operation. Producers also raised the possibility of legal action against the province.

The Manitoba Beef Producers welcomed both the auction system and removal of the 4,800 animal unit cap, but were soon pushed by northern ranchers to lobby the government to reopen the regulations.

Provincial response

The province quickly promised to add a first right of renewal or existing leases in light of the outrage.

“We never, ever intended to hurt any existing producers or take land away from them that are still in the business,” then-minister of agriculture Ralph Eichler said.

New leases, however, would operate under the rules as published, the province maintained.

New Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen has remained firm on that line. In a November interview with the Manitoba Co-operator, Pedersen maintained that only legacy leases would get the first right of renewal, while unit transfers were not on the table.

“You own land; you rent land. What they’re wanting to do is draw that lease land in to increase the value of their own land. Where in agriculture can you take rented land and add it to increase the value of your own land?” he said.

Feeling ignored

The province maintains that they consulted extensively with stakeholders while developing the new rules, although impacted ranchers say they have felt ignored.

During one meeting in Ste. Rose du Lac in October, one producer stood to say she had reached out to the province multiple times on the issue, and had got no response. Others also decried a perceived lack of consultation with existing leaseholders.

Others accused the government of purposefully waiting until after their successful re-election to release the unpopular rules. The Manitoba Co-operator reached out to the province for comment on that accusation, but did not receive a response.

Into 2020

The province held the first auctions under the new system in late November and early December.

The province has not released a timeline for the promised first right of renewal on legacy leases. The change requires the province to formally reopen the regulations, including a mandatory consultation period.

Impacted producers are now waiting for news on what exactly that promised right of renewal will look like.

Despite Pedersen’s comments, both producers and Manitoba Beef Producers continue to lobby the government for further changes.

The post Year in Review: Crown lands saga continues appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture elected its first female president, Mary Robinson.

While the name might be new to western Canadian members she’s well known in Atlantic Canada agriculture.

She’s managing partner of a sixth-generation family farm company on Prince Edward Island, and came up through the ranks of farm organizations. She is past president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.

While she’s the first woman to take on this particular high-profile leadership role, there have been plenty of earlier precedents in the sector.

Leaders like JoAnn Buth who headed the Canola Council of Canada, was appointed to the Senate of Canada and now heads up Cigi. Or Patti Miller, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.

Other names that spring to mind include the University of Manitoba’s Karin Wittenberg, former provincial agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk, and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association’s Pam de Rocquigny, just to name a few.

While there may be some work remaining to achieve full equality, the train has clearly left the station and women appear to be accepted in leadership roles in agriculture, and that acceptance grows every day.

In fact, when Robinson’s hometown newspaper the Truro News covered her appointment it led with the critically important fact that “For the first time in the 84-year history of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, an Islander has been elected president,” and only later mentioned she also happened to be the first woman in the role.

It was in Ottawa, however, where the glass ceiling has lingered longer and the real strides were made.

Swept up in the post-SNC-Lavalin cabinet shuffle intended to paper over the dramatic departure of former minister of justice and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould from cabinet, Lawrence MacAuley moved to Veterans Affairs.

In his stead was appointed the first woman to hold the agriculture portfolio in Canada’s 151-year history, Marie-Claude Bibeau.

The Quebec MP is an unknown quantity not only in Western Canada, but the entire Canadian agriculture sector.

She hails from Sherbrook, Quebec, represents the riding of Compton-Stanstead since the 2015 election that swept the federal Liberals to power, and has been minister of international development.

Prior to politics she worked for the Canadian International Development Agency, before returning to Canada and going into business.

Her thin agriculture credentials have led to some speculation she may be nothing more than a placeholder minister until after the next election, slated for later this year.

If that is the case, it does the portfolio, Bibeau herself and the political aspirations of rural Canadian women a profound disservice. Too often women in Canada have found themselves in positions of leadership only to find they’re piloting a doomed ship.

Perhaps the most glaring example of that is the story of the 19th Canadian prime minister, Kim Campbell.

During her time in politics she was minister of justice and attorney general, and held the Veterans Affairs and Defence portfolio and earned a reputation as able and hard working.

But it was only when the federal Progressive Conservatives of the time were facing almost certain electoral defeat that she was handed the reins of power, and served only four months. The subsequent election saw the government reduced to an ignominious rump party, represented by only herself and Jean Charest.

Judging from the reaction I’ve seen, people are willing to give Bibeau a chance. A longtime reader gave me a ring after news of the appointment broke. He’d been down at the local coffee shop and they’d been talking it over.

He called not to decry the appointment of an outsider, or wonder if a woman would be up to the job in a sector that’s still largely perceived as male dominated. Instead, he was wondering how you might get in touch with someone like the minister of agriculture and invite her out to rural Manitoba.

“We realized we haven’t seen any agriculture ministers out here in quite a while, at least not outside the cities,” he explained. “I think she’s probably got a lot of learning to do, and maybe coming out here would be a good start.”

Coming from rural Quebec, he reasoned, she probably knew a fair bit about supply management, but little about grain or beef production.

Nobody, including Marie-Claude Bibeau, knows how long or successful her tenure will be. But one thing is certain.

If she finds herself in Manitoba and wants to learn a bit about the business, she’ll likely find no shortage of farmers willing to fill her in.

The post Editorial: About time appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Premier Francois Legault on Thursday named Andre Lamontagne, a businessman and former supermarket owner and the MNA for the southwestern riding of Johnson, as his minister of agriculture, fisheries and food, and as minister responsible for the Centre-du-Quebec region.

Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) jumped from third-party status to defeat Philippe Couillard’s Liberals and form a majority government in the Oct. 1 election.

In a caucus heavy on rookies, Lamontagne has represented Johnson in the Quebec assembly since April 2014, when he scored for the CAQ a riding held mainly by the Parti Quebecois since 1981. He easily won his riding again on Oct. 1, coming in 13,851 votes ahead of Quebec solidaire candidate Sarah Saint-Cyr Lanoie.

Lamontagne, who holds a B.A. in business administration, a master’s degree in education psychology and a helicopter pilot’s license, operated three supermarkets in the 1980s and 1990s and co-owned a chain of travel agencies.

He later ran a management consulting firm and since 2010 has owned a business specializing in buying, refurbishing, resale and leasing of helicopters. After his election as MNA, he served as the CAQ’s critic for the economy, innovation and exports.

The new minister’s relatively limited ag background doesn’t faze Quebec’s influential Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), which noted the Johnson riding is in the midst of the Monteregie and Centre-du-Quebec, regions which combined include over a third of Quebec’s farms and farm businesses.

Thus, UPA president Marcel Groleau said Thursday in a release, Lamontagne is very familiar with the ag portfolio and the organization is eager to meet with him to discuss Quebec agriculture policy.

The UPA noted Thursday it had laid out several priorities during the election campaign, among them the protection of farmland, ensuring access to land for next-generation farmers, property taxation, risk management and Quebec’s minimum wage.

Trade issues remain prominent on the UPA’s radar, the organization said, noting the ongoing tariff fight between the U.S. and China and its effects on ag commodity prices, as well as concessions made in the new U.S./Mexico/Canada trade pact.

The province’s dairy, pork and crop sectors are either already directly affected by those issues or soon will be, the UPA said.

Among other ministries important to farmers, the UPA also noted Legault’s appointments of Marie-Chantal Chasse as environment minister, Pierre Dufour as forestry minister, Francois Bonnardel as transport minister and Andree Laforest as minister for municipal affairs.

Sylvie D’Amours, who before Oct. 1 was the CAQ’s agriculture critic, also returns to the assembly and was named Thursday as minister for indigenous affairs. –– Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Bill 35, the Agricultural Producers Organizations Funding Act, passed third reading unanimously in Manitoba legislature, following a marathon “all nighter” as MLA’s debated a number of bills before the end of the current legislative session.

“It (new act) will allow us to get more up-to-date exemption reports out to designated purchasers in a more timely basis, which will help reduce the number of instances where they are mistakenly over deducting from members,” KAP general manager James Battershill said in an interview Nov. 10.

Under the old system designated buyers of farm products, such as grain companies, were obliged to collect from farmers, on behalf of KAP, three-quarters of one per cent of the value of all the goods they were selling. However, KAP’s annual membership fee is $210, which is reached after a farmer sells $28,000 worth of products.

• Read more: KAP hopes improved checkoff ready for its next fiscal year

Although KAP notifies buyers when a farmer has reached $210, often it’s too late, or in some cases buyers aren’t set up to stop the deductions, Battershill said. As a result many farmers are over deducted and KAP refunds the money.

It makes more work for KAP, increasing its operating costs and it frustrates members, Battershill said.

“In the past two full membership years, we collected $2.85 million from Manitoba farmers, and issued $1.37 million in refunds which equals 48 per cent of the total check-off,” Battershill told the committee reviewing the legislation.

The new legislation, announced in January at Ag Days by Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler as part of the Manitoba government’s plan to cut red tape, will streamline KAP’s checkoff, Battershill said.

“The biggest complaint (by farmers) is certainly making deliveries to multiple purchasers in a couple of months span where the information about the first purchase hasn’t been reported to us and then their name hasn’t shown up on the exemption report to the other purchasers,” Battershill said.

It will take time to implement the new system and some educating of KAP members and designated buyers, “but hopefully it will reduce some of the duplication,” he added.

The new legislation will also make it easier for KAP to retain supporters’ contributions, Battershill said. Those are farmers whose checkoff falls short of the $210 membership fee.

In the past that money had to be mailed back to contributors, But before doing so KAP would call farmers and ask if it could keep the money.

Now farmers whose contributions are under $210 will have to write KAP if they want the money refunded — the same applies to fully paid members who want their money back.

“Nothing changes about the process about requesting a refund if somebody chooses not to be a member of KAP” Battershill said. “The voluntary nature of KAP all stays consistent.”

A week before Bill 35 passed, Battershill told KAP’s advisory council meeting it was unlikely the bill, which had only received first reading, would have time to pass.

“We were starting to make some alternative plans for it to be reintroduced, but fortunately both the Minister of Agriculture and the House Lead Cliff Cullen were able to find some legislative calendar time for it to get through second reading, get through committee and through third reading all in the span of four and a half days so we were pretty appreciative of the energy and time that they dedicated to this,” he said.

“This is not an insignificant accomplishment,” said Battershill, adding it shows the Manitoba government’s commitment to agriculture.

KAP had 3,973 paid members as of Sept. 30, up slightly from the same time last year.

KAP expects a total of 4,650 members by Nov. 30.

The number is a bit misleading since often a membership is given to a farm operation, which can include more than one farmer.

The post Streamlined, improved KAP checkoff takes effect Dec. 1 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Agriculture is a complex industry with many issues and different viewpoints to consider. A system like we have now supports just one organization’s perspectives, limits the public debate and reduces the range of input farmers can offer. Manitoba would benefit from having a system that instead allows farmers to choose which general farm organization (GFO) to support with their checkoff dollars.

• Read more: Manitoba government to consult with KAP to make its checkoff more efficient
• Read more: Province to discuss new stable funding formula for KAP

Manitoba has two: The National Farmers Union Region 5 (Manitoba) (NFU-MB) since 1969 and Keystone Agriculture Producers (KAP) since 1984. Currently KAP is the group legislated to receive checkoff funds because the Agriculture Producers Funding Act of Manitoba states: “Only one qualified organization may be certified…”

NFU-MB, funded by voluntary farmer memberships, is an important voice advocating for Manitoba farmers and the viability of family farming in Canada. Like many farmers, we believe that more choice will lead to better results when it comes to policy analysis, making recommendations and representing farmers.

We are calling upon Minister Eichler to not only review the efficiency of the current model, but to also consider other options so that farmers are offered a choice of voice as to which organization they will support with their checkoff dollars.

We agree Manitoba’s current model is cumbersome and inefficient. We also see that it is not free of corporate influence. It is not designed to represent the diversity of Manitoba’s farmers as it is limited to those who deliver grain to elevators. There are many farmers who do not but are affected by agriculture policies. In addition, the elevators and farmers have to deal with a lot of paperwork.

All these inefficiencies detract from the important business of representing farmers. Yet the biggest cost is the current funding model’s lack of support for a diversity of farm voices. There is no choice of voice.

In contrast, other provinces recognize farmer diversity under their stable funding legislation, allowing farmers to choose among two or more GFOs through a farm registration model.

The Ontario model collects membership fees from farmers and distributes the funds to the GFOs according to the farmer’s choice, all at a very low cost. In September 2013, Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food examined their model. It concluded that offering stable funding to multiple GFOs was necessary because it offers “the democratic freedom of farmers to choose the voice that best represents their interests,” and stated that the “practice increases transparency, improves the quality of policy decisions and contributes to public acceptance of the decisions that are implemented.”

The NFU-MB urges Manitoba to follow the example of Ontario in funding a minimum of two GFOs. In public discussions of policy, it is very important to have a diversity of voices participate.

Should this extend to agriculture in Manitoba as well?

Ian Robson farms near Deleau, Man. and is the NFU Region 5 (Manitoba) regional co-ordinator. Dean Harder farms near Lowe Farm, Man. Robson and Harder both serve on the NFU national board. For more information about the NFU, see nfu.ca.

The post Opinion: Choice of voice needed for Manitoba appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Provincial Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid on Tuesday reintroduced the Burden Reduction Act, a package of amendments meant to “reduce regulatory burdens and practices that cost businesses time and money, while protecting environmental and health standards and enhancing worker safety.”

The package includes amendments to over 50 provincial statutes, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act — under which the new bill proposes to eliminate the need for an order-in-council (OIC) to establish a program.

The minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs — in this case, Jeff Leal — would then have authority to either create or amend provincial programs “responsive to the needs of industry,” the province said.

The agriculture minister would then be able to establish “programs for the encouragement of any branch of agriculture, food or rural affairs,” offering grants, services or other payments and/or requiring that program participants pay specific fees.

The minister would also have authority to name an agriculture ministry employee or contractor, or an outside operator or company, to administer such programs.

OICs are decrees issued by a provincial lieutenant governor on the advice of executive council — that is, the premier and cabinet. OICs aren’t debated in the legislative assembly before they’re implemented.

The Burden Reduction Act previously got as far as first reading in June and died when the legislature was prorogued Sept. 8. –– AGCanada.com Network

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Ralph Eichler, the MLA for the Interlake-area constituency of Lakeside since 2003, was sworn in Tuesday along with Premier Brian Pallister and 11 other cabinet ministers at Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for Human Rights, by Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon.

Eichler, 66, served two stints as ag critic during the Tories’ time in opposition, and in several other critic portfolios, most recently handling the municipal government and Manitoba Hydro files.

Previously a cattle producer, raising purebred Simmentals and a commercial herd, Eichler also served as an administrator for the Interlake School Division for eight years before entering politics.

His resume also includes a stint as owner and operator of Prairie Farm and Ranch Supply, a livestock handling equipment manufacturer and dealership, and of Teulon auction company Ray’s Auction Service, founded by his late father Raymond.

During his time in the livestock equipment business, Eichler served on the board of the Prairie Implement Manufacturers Association and helped launch the marketing of the VanderBuilt Stock Doctor, a medication injection tool for livestock.

As an MLA, Eichler has also served as a director on the State Agriculture Rural Leaders Board, a provincial, state and federal legislators’ group with members from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, which helps develop agriculture policies and exchange best practices.

Eichler won re-election in both 2007 and 2011, and in the April 19 election, he defeated NDP challenger Matt Austman, a Winnipeg communications specialist, by a decisive spread of 4,708 votes.

The Tories’ incumbent ag critic, Midlands MLA Blaine Pedersen, also joins Pallister’s cabinet as minister of infrastructure. Ian Wishart, the MLA for Portage la Prairie and a former president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, is minister of education and training.

Pallister noted in a release Tuesday that his cabinet is reduced in size by a third from its predecessor.

“Our team’s plan for a better Manitoba with lower taxes, better services and a stronger economy was overwhelmingly endorsed by Manitobans,” he said in a release. “We know the job ahead of us will not be easy, but this is the right team to get Manitoba back on track.” — AGCanada.com Network

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