Tour planned of flood zone

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/08/2011 (5537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Facts and figures help, but a first-person look at the long-term damage and destruction of flooding across southwest Manitoba is worth 1,000 words.

As homeowners sop up basements and producers look out across barren, unseeded fields, 14 communities and regional municipalities have banded together to address their common issues in the wake of the flood of 2011.

In the past month, the Southwest 2011 Flood Strategy Committee has solidified nine areas of focus and crafted a draft paper with the hope that government is fully aware how the economy and environment has been affected.

"The entire economy of the southwest corner of the province is being jeopardized, so as a result, (the 14 communities and RMs) found we have a lot of commonalties," committee co-chair and RM of Sifton Reeve Rick Plaisier told the Sun. "This was straight from the grassroots itself."

The proof isn’t in the document, Plaisier says, but it’s in the cross-region tour that a handful of government officials including Premier Greg Selinger, emergency measures, agriculture and water stewardship ministers and Brandon East NDP MLA Drew Caldwell, have been invited to take part in next week.

The tour bus departs from the Souris Memorial Arena at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, and will travel through the RMs and communities of Whitewater, Lauder, Melita, Maple Lake, Sifton, Whitehead and back to Souris. Producers and business owners affected by the flood will be part of the tour, sharing their personal stories.

The committee hopes their stories and the bleak-looking crops will help drive home the message to attending government officials that residents in southwest Manitoba need help.

"We have a strong feeling that the economy in this corner of the province contributes a great deal to the provincial budget," Plaisier said.

"Government should recognize the fact that some stimulus or programming in this area will help prevent the decline of revenue in this area."

From economic stimulus to riparian repair assistance and drainage issues, the committee’s nine focus points are comprehensive, but they’re not asking for more than any other region has received, Plaisier says.

As long as each point is addressed — and the appropriate government department explains which programs are available — the committee will be satisfied.

"We want to be treated the same way other parts of the province have been treated," he said. "We want them to recognize that this part of the province is hurting big time and that it may need similar programs to other areas or it’s own unique programs. Just recognize the need and help us out as much as possible is what we want."

Although the committee isn’t about pointing out government inadequacies, Plaisier says it’s very clear that so far, southwest Manitoba has been short-changed.

"Diking around the Red River area stands out, for example. It was government-paid for but here there’s a big question mark in terms of how much and if government will pay for the same diking. So we need clarification from government. Does this program cover this or not? Are you in or are you out?"

Anyone interested in participating in the bus tour is asked to contact the committee by emailing Plaisier at rplaisie@mts.net or co-chair RM of Morton Reeve Bob McCallum at bmfarm@mts.net.