Proposed changes to the Manitoba Environment Act, contained in Bill 17, are under review by the Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Agriculture and Food prior to third reading and passage and public hearings are now underway.

The proposal calls for permanent moratoriums on swine barn or manure storage construction or expansion in three regions of the province.

Manitoba Chicken Producers general manager Wayne Hiltz says, at this point, Bill 17 targets only the hog industry and unfairly so, but other agricultural groups could be next.

Wayne Hiltz-Manitoba Chicken Producers

Technically it will not affect chicken producers in their business of chicken production today.

Obviously our concern is, "who's next" and our other concern being, not only who's next but, why is policy not being based on science?

Why is it being based on what appears to political motivation.

Bill 17 has no connection to the Clean Environment Commission report which said that the hog industry was sustainable and so, anytime a government is making policy that's not based on science, it does concern us.

Certainly we also want to support the hog producers in Manitoba because again they're taking many different opportunities to improve science and to properly handle the issues with regards to their industry and this doesn't seem to be recognized with this bill.

Hiltz suggests, if producers are applying manure to the land and there is no further expansion, they'll simply replace potential organic manure application with inorganic manufactured chemical fertilizers.

He believes the ban is politically based rather than science based and in appearing before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Food Manitoba Chicken Producers has the opportunity to express its concerns on the record.