Inspection station in need of funding

The only privately-operated livestock inspection station in Canada is in danger of closing if the federal government doesn’t open its purse strings, the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association warned last week.
Outgoing RRCA president Tom Morrish said the port of entry station in Rainy River has been an important link for district cattlemen since it first opened in 1995, but is in urgent need of additional funding in order to maintain and upgrade the facilities.
So far, pleas to Ottawa have fallen on deaf ears.
“We’d really like some government assistance, but we’re not getting far with this,” Morrish told RRCA members at the group’s annual meeting last Wednesday night in Stratton.
“We’ve been chasing this for five years.”
The station is used to inspect and certify breeder cattle coming into Canada from Minnesota or going the other way. It also is used to clear cattle in transit from Rainy River to points west via the United States.
This last function, said Morrish, is a real time and money saver for district farmers since it cuts the transportation time and costs significantly by avoiding the much longer northern route through Kenora.
Station manager Linda Armstrong, a district cattle farmer, can’t understand why the federal government is reluctant to pitch in for such an important project when the amount of money required is so insignificant.
“What we need is a few dollars to maintain it,” said Armstrong. “We could run it for years for $50,000.”
Armstrong said the only current revenue generator for the station is the fees paid on the cattle coming through. Last year, 340 head were inspected: each paid a $1 a head, plus $20 per truckload (plus GST).
That amounted to only $526, while the cost of operating and maintaining the station was $2,527.08—for a net loss of just over $2,000.
Armstrong said without some contribution from the government, the RRCA will have to continue to finance the deficit. And in light of other federal funding to the region lately, this seemed like a small request.
“If you can do this for the Rainy River District, you can do this for the cattlemen,” she reasoned, referring to the federal cheques local MP Robert Nault, also the minister for Indian Affairs and Northern Development, doled out to various municipalities and groups across the region earlier this month.
Morrish said he even approached Queen’s Park in hopes of eliciting some support, but bluntly was told it was a federal matter and to expect no help from the province.
Undeterred, Morrish then tried another tack. Upon learning the federal government was committing up to $30 million to shore up border security, he once again approached Nault’s office—pitching the idea the inspection station qualified as a security issue.
That also was somewhat less than successful.
“I was told, ‘Don’t even think about it. That money’s for something else,’” said Morrish.
Nault’s office did recommend, however, that Morrish address his concerns to the Ministry of Agriculture, since this matter falls under its jurisdiction.
Morrish then sent a letter to Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief as well as a copy to Nault’s office.
He said he has not yet received a response from Vanclief’s office, but the House is just now returning from its Christmas break and Morrish hoped for a favourable response shortly.