Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister of Natural Resources): I have a statement for the House.

Madam Speaker, we have seen additional heavy rain this past long weekend in southwestern Manitoba, and it has worsened the flooding of agricultural lands in the entire area, not only the areas next to the Souris and its tributaries. We now have an estimated two million acres of agricultural land in the Souris basin that are under water or so soggy that the land cannot be worked, and recent rains will further delay the return to normal conditions.

Some new road washouts have been reported, and there is heavy rain near the U.S. border. Levels along the Souris River are cresting between the U.S. boundary to Napinka at close to mid-April crests. From Hartney to Wawanesa water levels will rise another two-tenths of a foot in the next few days. The levels at Souris and Wawanesa are expected to be higher than mid-April. These forecasts are based on favourable weather conditions for the next ten days, and according to Environment Canada, no precip is expected in the next few days but there is a chance of thunder showers later in the week. So we are watching closely to provide whatever assistance can be made use of in the valley.

In other areas the heavy runoff in the upper Pembina River from the weekend rains has caused creeks to rise in that area with significant flooding that will continue for several weeks, especially in the area between Rock Lake and Swan Lake. Rock Lake is presently cresting. The Assiniboine River is rising between Brandon and Portage la Prairie and is flooding some low-lying land near the river. The Portage diversion will continue to be used to reduce the flooding from Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg. The Red River is now near its crest again, and further rises should be no more than a few inches.

So, needless to say, Madam Speaker, what is now needed is hot sun and drying winds for farmers in the southwestern and western part of the province.

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Mr. Stan Struthers (Dauphin): I would like to thank the Minister of Natural Resources for the statement that he has made to the House today concerning the terrible flooding conditions that we have throughout parts of Manitoba. I had an opportunity last week to tour through the Pembina Valley and take a look at the Pembina River and how high that is and also to tour through the southwest part of the province, several of the R.M.s that have now declared themselves emergency zones, and take a look at the amount of water that is collecting in those areas through rain, through runoff, through drainage, through all of the factors that have contributed to what is really an awful situation in the southwest part of our province, and not just the southwest but in other parts as well.

Madam Speaker, I want to point out particularly in the Pembina Valley, Rock Lake, Pelican Lake, Swan Lake, all at very high levels. I talked there with one farmer whose cattle were hemmed right in up against the wall of the Pembina Valley, a farmer who was forced to buy extra hay for his cattle because of the wet conditions, an expense that this farmer has not normally had to make, along with the extra expenses involved in bringing hay to his farm.

I also talked to another young farmer who farms a century farm–it has been in his family for 120 years in the Pembina Valley area–who may have to give up the farm because he has faced several years of flooding, he has lost hundreds of dollars in anhydrous ammonia that he has put down on a crop last fall which is now being washed away.

These are the kinds of cases that need to be looked at, Madam Speaker.

In the Pembina Valley as well, many obstructions in the river are causing havoc for farmers, holding back water and causing damage on their fields and to their cattle productions. A Ducks Unlimited dam in particular is causing havoc, and a bridge that was recently con-structed is really constricting the flow of the river in the area. These are things I think the government needs to take a look at and needs to act upon.

In the southwest part of the province, again hay land, I particularly remember looking down at Oak Lake and Plum Lake, Maple Lake and seeing the original outline of those lakes being way, way inland with water flowing outside of the original, the usual limits of that lake, causing massive amounts of hardship for farmers who usually take hay from the area.

Madam Speaker, I want to make sure that we encourage the provincial government to work with the local councils in providing immediate drainage for those areas, working with them in terms of a compensation package to help out farmers who have incurred expenses because of this flood, and also to provide long-term relief in terms of licensing and enforcement of the water rights that exist in this province. Thank you very much.