June 2, 2015
Province Introduces Legislative Amendments that would Strengthen Protection of Agricultural Land from Noxious Weeds
The Manitoba government has introduced proposed amendments to strengthen the Noxious Weeds Actand better protect agricultural lands and natural areas in Manitoba from the spread of noxious and invasive weeds, Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today.
“The proposed amendments would preserve the act’s original objective of protecting the province from noxious weeds while ensuring it also reflects today,” said Minister Kostyshyn. “These changes would make it easier for the province to take quick action and deal with potential threats to agricultural and natural lands.”
Four major changes have been proposed including:
- a tiered approach for noxious weed classification that would allow flexibility in regional weed control programs and a simpler way to add or remove weeds from the provincial list;
- the ability to designate new invasive weeds for a period of one year, that would allow timely response to new weeds found in the province;
- adjusting provisions that would allow municipalities to recoup expenses from controlling noxious weeds on non-municipal land so they could be more easily adjusted to reflect actual costs; and
- a new, intermediary enforcement tool that would help ensure municipal governments take the necessary steps to deal with a noxious weeds, as required in the proposed legislation.
The minister noted the Noxious Weeds Act is one of the province’s oldest pieces of legislation and was first proclaimed in 1871. It requires land owners and occupants to prevent the growth, ripening and spread of weeds and weed seeds, with municipal weed inspectors responsible for enforcement.
“Controlling the spread of noxious weeds is an area of shared concern for municipalities and the province,” said Doug Dobrowolski, president, Association of Manitoba Municipalities. “AMM supports amendments to the act that would enhance co-ordination and allow municipalities to recoup some of the costs of controlling noxious weeds.”
In instances where municipalities fail to enforce the act, the only option currently available to the Manitoba government is to assume responsibility for weed control programs and charge any costs back to the municipality. The proposed change would allow the province to issue a lower-cost fine to a municipal government for less serious issues.
“The flexibility and adaptability built into the proposed changes to the act are very positive,” said Ed Rempel, president, Manitoba Canola Growers Association. “In particular, new emphasis on biosecurity is both timely and necessary. Our association welcomes these improvements.”
To be declared noxious, a plant must be considered a threat to agriculture, human health or the environment because of its invasive growth or toxic properties. There are currently more than 100 designated noxious weeds in Manitoba including leafy spurge, ragweed, thistles, loosestrife and quack grass. The changes introduced today would amend the list of regulated weeds and designate them into one of three tiers based on prevalence, distribution and invasiveness, the minister said.
Controlling noxious weeds is exempt from the Non-Essential Pesticide Use regulation which came into effect on May 1, if the pesticide is applied by, or under the authority of, a municipal weed inspector or supervisor.
For a complete list of noxious weeds, visit www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/weeds/declaration-of-noxious-weeds-in-mb.html.
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