Posted by Les Routledge   HS: Thanks Les ..

Here is the speech…….. 

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Given how diplomatic Harry was on his television show and still is on his radio reports, I think a lot of people will be surprised about the passion that he expresses in this speech about the hog barn expansion ban.

Somebody should get this guy a vehicle and bookings at every town hall in rural Manitoba. It has been a long time since I heard this type of passion being expressed about a political issue and politics in general. Ideally this would be a barn-burner combination with Ken Waddell who also can be quite passionate in his speeches.

I think Harry has hit the nail on the head when he states that Bill 17 is not about appeasing some environmental groups or dealing with the hog industry. Instead, it is the thin edge of a sword that creates a new precedence when political expediency trumps solid science, economics, and common sense. This precedence could become a sword that is swung again and again against the interests of farmers, small business operators and rural communities. Who is next?

Ø Is it the cattle feedlot operator?

Ø Is it the grain producer?

Ø Is it the organic farmer who spreads manure on the land?

Ø Is it the small cattle farmer operating on marginally productive land?

Ø Is it the rural resident who operates a septic field?

Ø Is it anyone who happens to own a cottage at the lake?

Ø Is it the river-front owner of a house in the City of Winnipeg?

Ø Is it the hunter of wild game?

Ø Is it the vegetable or market garden producer?

Ø Is it the rural hamlet, village, or town that needs to rebuild their municipal waste collection and treatment systems?

Once science, common sense and economic reason go out the window to be replaced by cheap political and partisan advantage, any of these dysfunctional futures becomes possible and even probable.

The hurt only starts with the pork industry and it may not end until the NDP has achieved a goal of forcing all of us rural people to live a public housing ghetto in the centre of Winnipeg.

I also agree with Harry that the push back has to start here and it has to start now!!!

Bill 17 is bad legislation and it must be stopped!

It is time to stand up for rural Manitoba!

p.s. It is possible to get this Government to change direction, Two years ago the Association of Engineers launched a full court press to stop the Government from implementing dysfunctional legislation associated with the construction industry. That effort succeeded because Engineers from across Manitoba overwhelmed the committee process with presentations that expressed their concerns and objections to the proposed dysfunctional plans of the Government.

Please forward this correspondence onto anyone who you believe can make a difference in this process.