Long before the media began to turn its attention to the economic woes of American banks, the stock market and the automobile industry, there was a vital sector of the Canadian economy that had been mired in difficult economic troubles.

The Canadian livestock industry, particularly the pork and cattle sectors, have suffered though several months of difficulty as a result of low prices, high input costs and international trade challenges such as the BSE border closer and U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) legislation.

While it is understandable that national and international attention has been focused on the sectors that have been most directly impacted by the global credit crisis and resulting recession, it is also important to remember that livestock producers have been living though an economic crisis of their own for many months already.

Recently the government in Saskatchewan recognized the challenges of its livestock industry with an announcement that they would be contributing $71 million in financial support to the province’s cattle and pork producers. The announcement came after 18 months of deep losses for producers and a reduction in pork production of 25%.

There has been some criticism that the Saskatchewan government’s decision, and that of Alberta before it, to provide direct assistance to its cattle and pork producers may result in a trade challenge by other countries. While these are always legitimate concerns to consider, the important point remains that both Alberta and Saskatchewan recognized the contribution of the livestock sectors to their economy and decided to take action. There may be disagreement on the type of action that was taken but there should be no dispute that these governments were right to want to find a way to help this industry so that producers can survive until market conditions improve.

Contrast that with the approach taken by the Manitoba NDP government. Instead of looking for ways to support the livestock industry in our province until market conditions improve, Premier Gary Doer and the NDP have taken every opportunity they could find to make it harder and harder for these farmers to survive. From the imposition of farming moratoriums in the province to the piling on of red tape, instead of trying to support farmers like the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan have done, the NDP seem intent on driving farmers off the land and out of business.

On March 25th the NDP government will bring down another provincial budget. It has already signaled that the budget will be about ensuring our economy weathers the recession well and that industry and jobs are protected.

Those are nice words from the NDP government but they are just words. Regardless of what one might think of the means, in Saskatchewan and Alberta the government backed up their words of support for the farming industry with action. On March 25th we will see whether Gary Doer is really serious about helping important industries like livestock and agriculture in our province.