Manitoba Considering Standardized Livestock Approval

In December 2000 the Manitoba Livestock Stewardship Panel presented its recommendations for regulating intensive livestock development. Since then the province has been consulting with municipal governments and industry to determine how best to implement those recommendations. More recently some municipalities have taken independent action to regulate development...in some cases imposing moratoriums.

Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk says the disparity is causing concern.

Rosann Wowchuk-Manitoba Agriculture Minister. We see that there is differences across the province and one of the things that we have to consider is, should we be bringing in regulations that will regulate a standard right across the province.

Then we will not have the disparity that we do from municipality to municipality and you won't have the industry pitting one municipality against the other because you can do something in this one right along the border of another one. One of the things that we are looking at is, can we bring in the regulations that will standardize the process across the province?

Now, as I say 'standardize', there's always going to have to be some flexibility because there's some unique situations in a province where the regulation might not fit.

One of the things we have to look at and we are considering is bringing in regulations that will be the regulations across the province and then working with those.

Wowchuk says the province is examining existing guidelines and considering whether those guidelines can become standardized provincial regulations. However, she says, such changes must be made in consultation with industry and with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.