| Hog Barns Moratorium, Water Protection Review | 17 November 06 |
 Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers has ordered a 'temporary pause' on new or expanded hog barns in the province to allow the Clean Environment Commission (CEC) to conduct a public review of the Manitoba's 'Water Protection Plan', and to fulfill a recommendation to review the hog industry. No announcement has been made as to whether the CEC hearing for the proposed OlyWest Hog Processing Plant in Winnipeg will proceed as planned. Manitoba Conservation also announced the third phase of its 'Water Protection Plan'. To alleviate confusion associated with announcing a new plan already in its third phase, the press release contained a backgrounder to describe actions attributable to the first and second phases. Manitoba's Water Protection Plan was never referred to publicly before November 8, 2006. The 'Water Protection Plan' is also part of the review by the CEC. The Terms of Reference for the CEC review of the hog industry are available on the CEC web site. No report or Terms of Reference have been released for the 'Water Protection Plan' review. Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands, indicated, "We need a pause in the OlyWest review and CEC hearings too. It is unfortunate the Minister did not put a scientific and environmental basis to the review of the hog industry. The limited terms of reference assume the outcome. We need real hearings with intervener funding." View three November 8, 2006 Manitoba Government press releases: 383, 384, 385 Visit Manitoba Conservation's Environmental Livestock Program webpage View the Minister of Conservation's Terms of Reference for the CEC Investigation (PDF) View the Proposed Amendments to the Livestock Manure & Mortalities Management Regulation (PDF) View the November 10, 2006 Winnipeg Free Press article (DOC) View the November 14, 2006 CBC article Source: Government of Manitoba
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