Yesterday just over 30 representatives of the province's agricultural commodity groups, rural municipalities and businesses gathered in Winnipeg to discuss the province's ban on hog industry expansion in three regions.

Conservation Minister Stan Struthers introduced proposed legislation yesterday to the environment act that will make the moratoriums permanent.

Manitoba Egg Producers director Harold Froese says the ban creates tremendous concern among all commodities.

Harold Froese-Manitoba Egg Producers

The big thing is the precedent setting nature of this moratorium and arbitrariness of it.

There's not really any scientific basis for it.

The Clean Environment Commission report, which had a lot of very good recommendations in it did not talk about a moratorium.

Our disappointment was, we were heavily involved in the process with the provincial government on developing nutrient management regulations.

We thought it was a good process, came up with some really good proposals, and much of that is now muted.

Our wish would be that we could go ahead based on the regulatory side on a site specific basis because, when you have a blanket moratorium like that, there's many producers within those areas that may be trying to bring a son or daughter into the business and now they're prevented from doing that so the implications are huge.

It relates to employment, on farms or in localized industries and it has an impact in the city of Winnipeg and in the rest of the province as well.

Manitoba Pork Council has requested letters of support for an end to the ban be forwarded to government officials in advance of meetings it has scheduled next week with agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk and Premier Gary Doer.