Hundreds line up to blast Manitoba government on new hog rules

Manitoba's NDP government is getting an earful overa controversialmove to ban new and expanding hog barns inlargeareas of the province.

More than 400 people are scheduled to speak against the moratorium during a marathon legislative committee hearing that was expected to sit until midnight Friday and Saturday, then reconvene at least two more times next week.

First up was theban's most vocal critic, Karl Kynoch of the Manitoba Pork Council, who said the ban is not scientifically justified and will kill one of the province's most successful industries.

Keystone Agricultural Producers and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business also spoke against the ban, saying it threatens thousands of jobs and ignores farmers' compliance with the environmental regulations that are already in place.

Ab Freig, president of Puratone, which employs 400 people raising hogs in Niverville, south of Winnipeg, said his company spends $25 million on expansion every year in Manitoba.

If the Manitoba government prohibits the company from doing so, Freig said, he will spend the money elsewhere.

"We'll look at expansion to other jurisdictions. We'll look at expansion in Saskatchewan, because they are still open for agriculture, they're still friendly to agriculture or hog industry. We'll also look at expansion in the United States," he said.

But Ruth Pryzner, a farmer from western Manitoba, called on the government to not only move ahead with the ban, but to crack down even harder on the hog industry, which she described as inherently polluting.

The government announced in March that the previous temporary provincewide ban would be extended in three large regions of the province the southeast, the Red River Valley and the Interlake after a report from the provincial Clean Environment Commission warned of potential future phosphorus contamination of water bodies from hog operations.

The hog industry has been a prime target for Manitoba environmentalists, largely because it has exploded over the past decade. There were 4.8 million hogs little more than half the current population in the province in 2000, according to government statistics.

Hog producers in the Manitoba area are already struggling to deal with soaring feed prices, low livestock prices and a high Canadian dollar. Some producers said they are losing tens of thousands of dollars per week on their operations.