MHS Gordon Goldsborough webmaster and Journal editor has developed a website to post your replies to a series of questions about elevators. The MHS is interested in all grain elevators that have served the farm community.

Your contributions will help gather historical information such as present status of elevators, names of companies, owners and agents, rail lines, year elevators were built — and dates when they were torn down (if applicable).

There is room on the website to post personal recollections and stories related to grain elevators. The MHS presently also has only a partial list of all elevators that have been demolished. You can help by updating that list if you know of one not included on that list.

Your contributions are greatly appreciated and will help the MHS develop a comprehensive, searchable database to preserve the farm community’s collective knowledge of what was once a vast network of grain elevators across Manitoba.

Please contribute to This Old Grain Elevator website here.

You will receive a response, by email or phone call, confirming that your submission was received.

Goldsborough is interested in hearing all sorts of experiences about the elevators — funny, sad, or anything in between. Readers willing to share their stories can leave messages at 204-474-7469.

The post PHOTOS: This Old Elevator: September 2017 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

I took a look at the monthly data for the major centres across the Prairies in regards to temperatures and precipitation over the last three months. Below are the results. I have ranked or ordered the results in several different ways.

The first table below on the left is ranked by overall mean or average temperatures during May, June, and July. Looking at the table you can see that overall, Saskatchewan was the warmest, followed by Manitoba and then Alberta.

The second table on the right (see above) reorders our locations, based on how much each site’s average temperature differed or deviated from the long-term average temperature for that location. Looking at this table we see that Alberta is now the warmest region, with Saskatchewan coming in second and Manitoba last.

The third table below on the left looks at precipitation and I have ordered the data by the total amount of precipitation that fell at each location. Looking at the data you can see that the regions that saw the most rainfall were the more northern regions of the agricultural Prairies, with southern Alberta and southern and central Saskatchewan seeing the least precipitation.

Reordering the data on the right (see above) to show rankings comparing total precipitation to the long-term average for each location, or how much each station differed from their respective average, you can see that Regina has been remarkably dry compared to average, with a deficit of 137.5 mm of rain. Calgary also comes in very dry compared to the long-term average. The order then changes up a little bit with both Brandon and Winnipeg, which were higher on the list of total rainfall, now coming in as the next driest compared to average.

Hopefully this helps to shed a little bit of light on what has been going on weather-wise across the Prairies over the last few months. I also hope that looking at the data in a couple of different ways helps to put things into perspective. Regina, no matter how you look at it, has had a hot and dry last three months. Calgary, while dry, was not that warm overall, but compared to average it was the warmest region on the Prairies. So, when it comes to weather, pretty much everything is relative. What is warm in one place can be downright hot in another.

The post A detailed look at Prairie heat and rainfall appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“It’s pretty hard to ignore the fact that there is a widespread problem that needs attention from all levels of government because rural municipalities and farmers on their own just can’t cope with it,” Chorney said in an interview July 4, just before Premier Greg Selinger declared a provincial state of emergency and called on the Canadian Forces to help protect homes and property along the Assiniboine River.

The Agriculture Producers of Saskatchewan (APAS) supports KAP’s request, said association president Norm Hall.

The National Farmers Union is calling for emergency farm disaster relief, regulated drainage in Saskatchewan and a reduction in greenhouse gases to mitigate climate change, which it believes played a role in the flooding.

A spokesman for federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said a provincial government has to request an AgriRecovery program before one can be implemented.

Chorney was to meet Kostyshyn this week to make the case, bolstered by the fact there was a $195-million assistance program following the 2011 flood. Of that, $150 million was cost shared 60-40 by the federal and Manitoba governments with the province picking up the remaining $45 million on its own.

Although both levels of government point to crop insurance, which includes excess moisture insurance for unseeded land, as well as potential support through AgriStability and AgriInvest, Chorney said changes introduced April 1, 2013 have substantially reduced support under AgriStability.

• More from the Manitoba Co-operator: Prairie ‘islanders’ struggling to keep spirits afloat

Gutted AgriStability

One KAP member who saw his income reduced due to flooding in 2011 would have received 50 per cent less money had the new AgriStability program been in place then, based on calculations made by a reputable accounting firm, Chorney said.

“It just shows all the things we predicted about AgriStability cuts are true,” he said. “Farmers are going to be… very surprised when they find out there’s not a lot there to help people.”

AgriRecovery, the so-called third line of defence, is meant to fill gaps left in existing farm programs, according to Chorney.

Selinger hasn’t ruled out triggering the program.

“The (Manitoba agriculture) minister will make a recommendation to us and we will follow up with him on that, but we expect there will be an ag recovery requirement as we go forward,” he told reporters July 4.

“There are currently enhanced risk management programs available to help producers deal with excess moisture,” an official with the Manitoba government said later in an email. “The province will continue to monitor the situation and take steps to address any gaps identified, which could include AgriRecovery. Producers who have questions about available programs and resources can contact their local GO office for assistance.”

Kostyshyn will continue to consult with organizations such as KAP and Manitoba Beef Producers, the official said.

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) was hoping to release an estimate of how many acres were too wet to seed this spring this week. Industry observers are estimating 800,000 to one million acres.

That would be much less than the nearly three million acres unseeded because of excessive moisture in 2011, which triggered $162 million in payouts under the Excess Moisture Insurance program.

In addition almost 502,000 acres of crops were destroyed by excessive rains.

A record $326.9 million was paid out under the federal-provincial crop insurance (AgriInsurance) program in 2011.

Different causes

The 2011 flood was mainly due to melting snow. This year’s flood is due to up to eight inches of rain falling across eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba at the end of June.

It’s too soon to know the full extent of the damage to crops, hayfields and pastures, officials with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development said last week. Much depends on how long crops are under water, their stage of growth and the type of crop.

Longer term, KAP wants farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and their provincial governments to work on mitigating future floods, Chorney said. That could include restoring wetlands or building regional reservoirs to store flood waters, he said.

KAP and APAS both support the creation of the Assiniboine Basin Commission to work on flood mitigation, although Hall said this year’s event has more to do with saturated land than drainage.

However, the NFU is less sanguine.

“Saskatchewan has been turning a blind eye to illegal ditching too long,” Melville, Sask., farmer and NFU Region 6 (Saskatchewan) co-ordinator Ed Sagan said in a news release. “Thousands of sloughs have been drained to create nice square fields that are easy to work. Now, with these big storms all that drainage adds up to worse floods downstream.”

The post KAP calls for special assistance appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Legislation to create Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc., a non-government agency, to develop economic opportunities, spur job creation and ensure the viability of Churchill, was introduced in the Manitoba legislature Nov. 21.

OmniTRAX Canada, which owns the port and the railway that serves it, supports the move, its president Merv Tweed said in a news release distributed late Friday afternoon.

However, earlier in the day the Winnipeg Free Press reported Tweed as saying OmniTRAX was caught flat footed about the announcement.

“It just seems odd as the sole owner of the port and the rail (that serves it) that we would not be more intimately involved,” Tweed was quoted as saying.

Calls requesting an interview with Tweed were not returned by press time Monday. But Sinc Harrison, president of the Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA), said he was told OmniTRAX was not consulted.

“That isn’t fair to OmniTRAX since it is the major player,” Harrison said.

The HBRA was created to promote Churchill. If the new corporation will do that the association supports it, Harrison said. However, the devil is in the details and they won’t be spelled out until the regulations are prepared, he added.

The Manitoba government’s news release the Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc. legislation, included words of support from Lloyd Axworthy, president of the University of Winnipeg and chair of the board of directors of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation and Diane Gray, president and CEO, CentrePort Canada Inc., but not a peep from OmniTRAX.

However, in his own release Tweed said OmniTRAX is pleased.

“We look forward to working with the province and to providing our input through the legislative process to ensure that the new corporation continues to build on the joint success we’ve had over the last 16 years,” he said. “This includes key infrastructure investments of over $110 million from OmniTRAX and $20 million each from the governments of Manitoba and Canada.”

The corporation will attract and co-ordinate investment linked to the Port of Churchill and support research, planning and partnership development, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said.

The idea for the new agency was first raised by the Canada-Manitoba Task Force on the Future of Churchill. The task force suggested a more inclusive governance model could enable the port to handle multiple commodities with multiple shippers.

The announcement prompted some observers to wonder if the new agency would take over ownership of the port.

That isn’t the case, a Manitoba government official said in an email.

Another official likened the new agency to Winnipeg’s CentrePort Canada.

Details about the corporation’s board of directors and definition of the land area involved will be in the regulations, an official said. OmniTRAX and other interested parties will be consulted, he added.

The port took a hit when the federal government ended the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk Aug. 1, 2012. The wheat board was the port’s biggest customer and observers predicted grain exports would decline because grain companies would prefer exporting through their own facilities, all located at other ports.

The federal government announced a five-year, $25-million subsidy for firms exporting grain through Churchill. There are three years of funding left. By then OmniTRAX hopes to have built grain exports and have found other products to ship, including light sweet crude oil.

Ashton is quoted in the Free Press as saying there are environmental and safety concerns with moving oil through the northern port.

One of Churchill’s best shipping seasons ended earlier this month when the last grain ship left the port bringing total grain exports in 2013 to 635,000 tonnes compared to 450,000 last year.

The post Churchill gets another booster appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

A resolution from the Local Government District of Pinawa asks delegates to press Manitoba Hydro to consider “all options,” including a nuclear power station as part of its ongoing investigation into alternative power sources. The Public Utilities Board has directed Manitoba Hydro to look at options to northern dam projects and Bipole III.

This isn’t the first time nuclear power has been a topic for discussion among local leaders — a similar resolution passed in 2006, then was dropped in 2009 after Manitoba Hydro announced its long-term commitments to hydraulic generation and expanding wind power.

The impact of this summer’s one per cent hike in the provincial sales tax is on the agenda, as are two separate resolutions on Bill 33, the contentious act requiring municipalities with populations under 1,000 to merge. Those municipalities face a Dec. 1 deadline to put forward their amalgamation plan — although it’s not known how many will do so.

The 38 resolutions up for debate also include calls for improved disaster financial assistance, more timely responses for development plans, meeting the training needs of volunteer firefighters, and boosting provincial funding for rural palliative care programs.

The City of Thompson has put several resolutions forward this year, including two expressing its concerns for the negative impacts of VLTs and misuse of alcohol among its residents. Another resolution from the northern city includes a call for a longer season for provincial parks.

Delegates to the 15th annual convention of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities will also hear from newly appointed Municipal Government Minister Stan Struthers, who took over the renamed department from Ron Lemieux in a cabinet shuffle last month.

This is the final of the four-year terms served by municipal leaders elected in 2010. Manitobans go back to the polls Oct. 22,  2014 to re-elect local governments and school boards.

The convention takes place Nov. 25 to 28 at the Keystone Centre in Brandon.

The post Long list of resolutions as municipal leaders gather for 15th annual AMM convention appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Merv Tweed, president of OmniTRAX Canada, which owns the port and the Hudson Bay Railway that serves it, said that while this year’s performance is encouraging, the port must still diversify if it is to survive.

That’s why OmniTRAX wants to export light sweet crude oil, said Tweed, who recently resigned as the member of Parliament for Brandon — Souris to head the firm.

“I use the example of a shopping mall with anchor tenants,” Tweed said in an interview Nov. 15. “Grain would be one of our anchor tenants and we’re hoping oil would be the other and then that would allow us to do all the other things people want to do up here.”

Oil exported through Churchill would be shipped to Rotterdam to be refined, Tweed said.

Last year Churchill exported just under 432,500 tonnes of grain; the 10-year average is about 450,000 tonnes.

Churchill exported 656,298 tonnes in 2010 and the record was 729,000 tonnes sent in 1977.

This was Churchill’s longest shipping season since OmniTRAX purchased the port in 1997, Tweed said.

The port also loaded a couple of Panamax ships, which can carry 55,000 tonnes of grain.

Tweed said OmniTRAX is struggling to find rail cars to get grain into place at the northern terminal for next year’s shipping season.

Until last year almost all the grain shipped through Churchill came from the Canadian Wheat Board. There were dire predictions that exports through the port would dry up when the board’s monopoly was ended last year.

But the federal government stepped in with a $25-million shipping subsidy allocated over five years to assist with the port’s transition.

“What it does, is give us the opportunity to attract new grain companies and prove to them we can do what we say we’re going to do and give us the opportunity at the end of the day when the program expires,” Tweed said.

This year five grain companies shipped wheat, durum and canola through Churchill.

“We’re hoping we can expand that variety and supply markets we haven’t reached before,” he added.

Churchill, Canada’s only northern seaport, is about 1-1/2 days closer to some markets than Thunder Bay, Tweed said.

“To the shipping companies that’s a lot of money and a lot of savings,” he said.

Although Thunder Bay can load small ocean vessels, much of the grain shipped from there is transferred to other terminals along the St. Lawrence Seaway, adding cost.

Churchill’s disadvantage is its short season. This year the first ship arrived Aug. 4 and the last vessel usually sails by Oct. 31. This year’s Nov. 12 departure could be a sign of longer seasons to come. Arctic weather expert David Barber of the University of Manitoba has said Churchill’s shipping season could be extended by a month due to global warming.

“If we were to have a coast guard icebreaker, then that opens up a whole new area of possibilities,” Tweed said.

So would oil shipments — something environmental groups oppose. They question the safety given much of the Hudson Bay Railway is built on unstable permafrost. But Tweed said the railway has shipped petroleum products safely to Churchill’s fuel storage facility for years. Gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel is then shipped from Churchill to communities further north.

“We continue to move forward,” Tweed said. “We are having a series of community meetings with people along the rail line and listen to what they have to say and are showing them what we’d like to do and taking the feedback and adjusting accordingly.

“We have a company that is going to evaluate our business plan, safety plan and environmental plan. Whatever suggestions they make to improve it we’ll follow. We have taken a lot of steps to make it credible.”

The dream of establishing a northern seaport in Manitoba goes back more than a century. The Canadian Northern Railway laid track from Winnipeg to Hudson Bay Junction in 1908, but declined to head north despite federal government aid. With more government funds the next year, the railway began laying track to Nelson on Hudson Bay, but work ceased during the First World War.

When construction resumed it was decided to go farther north to Churchill. The Hudson Bay line was completed in September 1929 at a cost of $45 million. But it wasn’t until 1931 that the grain terminal at Churchill began operating.

The post Churchill exports up after longer than usual shipping season appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“There are some concerns with pasture recovery and just starting up the season next year,” said Trevor Hadwen, agro-climate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“In terms of native pasture, the dry fall doesn’t allow the recharge of the soil moisture, which doesn’t allow the plants to prepare as well for the winter as they normally would.”

The biggest area of concern is a region starting in central Alberta and stretching into Saskatchewan, he said.

There are some dry regions in Manitoba as well, but many areas in the south and southwest received some good precipitation this fall.

“The southwest (region of Manitoba) has received quite a bit of rain, getting a few of those storms that were popping up from North Dakota,” Hadwen said.

Though the soil is too dry in Alberta now, it’s likely that things will improve in spring, said Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. in Kansas.

“We’ve had some snow events already (in Alberta) which helped to pad the dryness a little bit and it kind of suggests that maybe we’ll see some improvement in the spring,” said Lerner. “A lot of the snow that fell will help to keep frost out of the ground, so when we do get into the spring thaw, the moisture will go into the ground fairly quickly.”

It’s still a wait-and-see kind of situation in Saskatchewan, though Lerner said he expects average snowfalls during the first half of winter across Western Canada, and that should keep winter wheat crops covered, he said.

“I think in general, the crop will probably be in fairly good shape,” he said. “There will be some very impressive bouts of cold that will occur, but I think we’ll have sufficient snow on the ground to take care of that. So, when it comes to the spring, we should at least get a fair start to the season.”

The post Dry soil a concern for some on the Prairies appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Like a good old-fashioned rally, dignitaries, clubs and alumni joined with local residents here May 31 to celebrate. If how the venerable organization honours its past is any indication, 4-H has no worries about its future.

It was on October 9, 1913, when young members of that original club proudly brought their poultry, corn and potatoes to exhibit at Roland’s first fall fair, earning prize money put up by residents, the municipality and the agricultural society.

And in the same spirit that guided the first Boys and Girls Club a century ago, Roland residents and visitors here last weekend opened their wallets once again for 4-H.

The nearly $19,000 raised will be put toward supporting the village’s 4-H Museum, which since 1990 has operated as a community-based venture, housing donated artifacts such as uniforms, banners, trophies, scrapbooks and project paraphernalia.

The Canadian 4-H Council and its anniversary committee have now officially recognized the project as Canada’s national 4-H Museum.

Honour

It’s a huge honour for Roland to have the country’s one and only national museum, and the amount raised is beyond anything they dreamed, said an overwhelmed Kyla Orchard, curator of the museum and head of the community’s busy 15-member 4-H club.

“It’s phenomenal. The money that’s come in is unbelievable,” she said. “I can’t even put it into words what this support that’s come from everybody across Canada means.”

The Canadian 4-H Council will be shipping a large volume of 4-H artifacts which are stored at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa.

New items have already arrived. As an anniversary gift, B.C. 4-H has presented Roland museum with the original telegram dated March 1, 1952 signalling the historic name change from Boys and Girls clubs to 4-H. The ‘4-H’ program had its beginnings in the U.S. in 1901 under that name.

Another evening highlight was the unveiling of a commemorative envelope by Canada Post in celebration of the youth development organization.

The first official ‘Boys and Girls Club’ originated in Roland after Manitoba deputy minister of agriculture W.J. Black and Manitoba Agricultural College director of extension Edgar Ward Jones began the program.

Edgar’s grandson, B.C. businessman Ward Jones was in Roland to join the celebrations, and spoke of how he keeps the slogan ‘Learn to do by Doing’ hanging in his Vancouver boardroom “because it still works, folks.”

Edgar Ward Jones married Adelaide Graham of Roland while serving alongside her on the new Boys and Girls Club board of directors.

Artifacts

His family will donate family documents and photos to the museum.

Other speakers in Roland included dean of the faculty of agricultural and food sciences Michael Trevan and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.

Selinger said 4-H has made a huge contribution to public service over the decades.

“Schooling is so important, but there’s something beyond reading, writing and arithmetic and that’s developing good citizens for the country. 4-H has been a trailblazer in that regard, all across this great country, and here in Manitoba.”

Roland’s celebrations were part of an intense week of meetings of the Canadian 4-H Foundation and the Canadian 4-H Council plus a gala dinner there May 30. That event attracted nearly 500 4-H alumni, program donors and sponsors, along with numerous dignitaries including federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Ron Kostyshyn.

Community service

Dori Gingera-Beauchemin, Manitoba’s assistant deputy minister of agriculture, and a former member of the McCreary Busy Hands 4-H Club gave the alumni address at the Winnipeg dinner. She spoke to the lasting legacy of 4-H, describing an organization committed to community service.

4-H’ers do not ask, ‘What am I signing up for?’ when asked for help, said Gingera-Beauchemin. “The 4-H’ers response is, ‘Where do I sign up?’”she said. The program has long fostered a profound sense of collective achievement through that commitment to community, she said.

She also spoke of how 4-H members are distinguished by their ability to speak in public. Most people are afraid to get up in front of a crowd, but not a 4-H alumni, she said.

“We stand up. We take a deep breath and we tackle it with the confidence that is the result of 4-H communications,” she said. “This public speaking capacity we have is the hallmark of the 4-H program.”

Gala’s attendees saw that in action when 15-year-old twin brothers Josh and Nate Kolano wowed the crowd with an impassioned speech about life on their family’s Sundown-area grain and hog farm, their confidence for the future of agriculture, and their own plans to farm one day. Unbeknown to most in the audience, the well-spoken teens were born with hearing impairments and only mastered speaking around the age of five.

Young speakers

They weren’t nervous at all speaking to the crowd, said Josh Kolano.

“You learn to do by doing,” added his brother, Nate. The pair won silver in the provincial competitions (Seniors two-person visual) category this spring.

With a century behind it, 4-H can count nearly two million young Canadians who have taken part in hundreds of thousands of projects and these opportunities to learn to do by doing, said Rob Black, who completed his term as president Canadian 4-H Council this spring.

Black said by celebrating 4-H’s legacy, they are spurring new interest in the program and what it can continue to offer to young Canadians.

“This opportunity with the 100th anniversary allows us to springboard into the future,” he said. “4-H officials are working on intensive strategic planning around their ‘Embrace the Future’ initiative, and want to “engage and re-engage alumni whether they be parents or leaders or donors or sponsors.”

The enthusiasm for the 100th anniversary celebrations has been a great start to 4-H’s next century, Black said.

The post National 4-H museum comes home to Roland appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“AgriRecovery is not intended to pay for the same event more than once. AgriRecovery was never intended to provide long-term compensation for situations that have affected the production capacity of a region for extended periods,” an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada department official said in an emailed statement.

The statement last week reinforces previous comments by federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz that costs incurred in 2012 due to the previous year’s flooding will not be eligible under AgriRecovery, the program through which most compensation was provided in 2011.

The federal government says Manitoba farmers have already received more than half a billion dollars through joint business risk management programs for 2011.

But producers, residents, cottage owners and First Nations around Lake Manitoba have continued to experience losses, including high water levels.

“Minister Ritz may have said no, but we’re not taking no for an answer,” said Steve Ashton, Manitoba’s minister of infrastructure and transportation.

“We’ve pushed back… and we’re absolutely confident we can document some of the impacts on pasture land, and the impacts that have had a ripple effect on the livestock sector.”

Frustration over a lack of compensation for flooded, damaged and inactive farmland in 2012 has spilled over into public protests twice in as many weeks.

In late April, protesting farmers blocked the opening of the Portage Diversion. A week later they took to the steps of the Manitoba legislature to voice their displeasure with the province’s handling of compensation in 2011 and 2012.

“I had a long-term forage business that has totally been wiped out, I can’t expect to rejuvenate it now,” said Joe Johnson. “Then I hear Mr. Ashton and Mr. Selinger talking about compensation, and I say wait a minute, the numbers don’t add up.”

Based on documents obtained through access to information in October of 2012, the Lake Manitoba-area producer estimates the average compensation payment for those affected by the 2011 flood to be about $65,000.

However, the province indicates that of the $700 million paid out to Manitobans after the 2011 flooding so far, more than $120 million has gone to producers around Lake Manitoba.

Ashton said payments ranged from $33,000 to $570,000, with the average producer receiving approximately $300,000 through a variety of programs covering costs such as home repair, debris removal, pasture and cropland restoration, cattle transport, fence repairs and income loss.

“It’s not correct to suggest that people haven’t received assistance,” the minister said. “I think the real issue here is… what level and for what costs. Really, as a province we’ve tried to be very proactive in our responses.”

Ashton acknowledged that multi-year compensation is still an issue, but he said addressing it requires federal support.

“Our approach is focused on getting the joint programs that do exist to provide extended coverage — extended in terms of years and I think we have to send a clear message to the federal government that this is the appropriate way to proceed,” Ashton said, while emphasizing that negotiations with Ottawa have remained amicable.

The Manitoba Co-operator requested an interview with Ritz last week, but that request was declined.

During a meeting for flood-affected Lake Manitoba residents last winter, federal officials urged the province to apply for funding through Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA), a program that reimburses up to 90 per cent of provincial disaster costs and is overseen by Manitoba’s lead federal minister, Vic Toews.

A request to speak to Toews was also declined, but in an emailed response, staff indicated a total of $100 million has been provided to Manitoba through DFAA in 2011 and 2012.

Provincial officials note Manitoba has spent a total of $1.2 billion fighting and compensating for the 2011 flood so far.

Public Safety Canada confirmed that a third request for DFA has been received from the province of Manitoba, but said that “audit findings are at a very preliminary level and do not provide detail with respect to the acceptance or rejection of elements of the provincial claims” at this time.

Ashton would not reveal what action the province will take if the federal government does not come through with funding for flood damage that extended into 2012.

“They may have assumed that under normal circumstances you only pay out for flooding once, but if you have impacts that continue for more than one year and flooding that continues for more than one year… there needs to be that kind of coverage,” he said.

Tom Nevakshonoff, MLA for the Interlake, said he would like to see the federal government step in with programing similar to the Jobs and Economic Recovery Initiative brought in following the flood of 1997.

“It’s incumbent upon us, and when I say us, I mean all of us, Manitobans, Canadians, provincial and federal governments to step up and do our utmost to repair the damage and get people back to the way their lives were before,” he said.

The post Government says no new compensation for old flood appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Members of the Bipole III Coalition are contacting those who will see the huge towers run through their fields about forming a landowners’ association, and will meet with lawyers in coming weeks to assess their legal options, said coalition president Karen Friesen.

“We wanted to let landowners know that we’re kind of predicting Bipole III’s licence will be granted,” she said. “It might be with some recommended changes, perhaps even some slight route adjustments, but regardless there will be some landowners somewhere who will be affected.”

The southern portion of the controversial multibillion-dollar transmission line is slated to run south of Langruth, jog around MacGregor, and eventually head east, running past St. Claude, Brunkild and Niverville before heading north to the Riel Converter Station on the east side of Winnipeg. There will be three or four towers every mile — each rising about 148 feet above the ground and sitting on a base 23 feet square. Navigating large, modern equipment around the towers will be a major challenge for field operators. They will also pose risks for aerial crop spraying, opponents say.

The coalition has held one meeting in Brunkild, as well as a teleconference to discuss options, said Friesen, who operates a mixed farm with her family near Niverville.

“Really there is not a lot we can do except wait and see right now,” said Friesen. “This meeting is just… to discuss strategy moving forward, because the licence will be granted, or will likely be granted at some point this summer. So we’re in the very early stages of making some decisions on how to proceed as a stand-alone landowners’ group.”

A class-action lawsuit is one option, she said.

“There are definitely a growing number of concerned landowners who are unwilling to sign easement agreements,” she said.
But that would just lead to expropriation, she said.

“This is something landowners will have to deal with for generations to come, so expropriation may not be in our best interest… we want to do what’s right in the long run,” Friesen said.

Hearings completed

The Clean Environment Commission (CEC) finished hearing submissions on the Bipole III route in March. Its report isn’t expected until mid-June at the earliest. But opponents expect a licence will be granted a few months later.

Manitoba Hydro employees have been marking property lines in her area, while an outof-province company is signing contracts with local farmers on behalf of the Crown corporation, said Pam Pugh, whose family has a pedigreed seed operation near Portage la Prairie.

“They decided this a long time ago, they had already planned it,” said Pugh. “They’ve sent this company out of Alberta around and they’re wanting to sign people up to have towers on their land… a lot of farmers are very, very upset about this.”

Her family is facing the prospect of nine or 10 towers on their property, covering a distance of about three miles, she said.

“It’s really ridiculous that they’re out there doing this now,” added Friesen.

A Manitoba Hydro official confirmed crews are working along the proposed route to confirm the location of property markers and make sure delineations between private property, Crown land, and easements are clear.

But that doesn’t mean changes to the route won’t be made, said Glenn Schneider.

“The route isn’t finalized and it won’t be until we hear from the CEC,” said Schneider. “We had to spend money in advance on the project in a number of spheres in terms of environmental reviews, in terms of this kind of work going on, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a foregone conclusion. All it means is we’re trying to approach the project in the most economical way and we’ll leave the decision on the final route to the CEC.”

Without advance preparations, keeping the new bipole line on schedule would be very difficult, he said, noting there are a sizable number of property owners who need to be contacted.

“Is the (CEC) going to select an entirely new route? That’s highly unlikely,” he said. “Is it possible they’ll select some deviation to certain portions of the route? That’s possible, and if they do we’ll adjust to that.”

The Bipole III Coalition wants the line to be built on the east side of the province, but westside proponents argue that route faces other obstacles and would jeopardize the chance of the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg being designated a UNESCO heritage site.

CEC only has a mandate to review the west-side route.

Not allowing the commission to consider whether an eastside route is better shows the province doesn’t understand how farmland is used, said Pugh.

“It’s going to hurt the agriculture industry and they don’t realize how important the agriculture industry is in this province; without the farmers, people would starve,” she said.

The post Coalition considering Bipole III legal action appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.