Although the process might be a little different than the past, the lines being drawn regarding a possible hog barn development in the municipality seem very much like a decade or more ago.
Earlier this year, it was announced that HyLife was planning a swine operation in Boissevain-Morton. What is known as the HyLife Merlot Nursery, it is to be located at S ½ of SE 34-04-20 WPM, on the north side of the municipality, close to the border with Grassland Municipality. It would be a 24,000 head hog nursery operation consisting of four barns and a provincially approved, engineered earthen manure storage facility. It would be the first HyLife project in the municipality, and the first new hog operation in a long time.
The lack of consultation with professionals, as well as concerns regarding the deterioration of health care in rural areas, led a locally-raised physician to challenge the government and its handling of the issue.
About a month ago, Dr. Danielle Paradis, who is currently a chief resident at the Parkland Rural Family Medicine Program in Dauphin, decided to raise her voice with an open letter to Premier Brian Pallister, which was picked up by different news outlets, including CBC. Paradis, a native of Dunrea who graduated high school in Boissevain, said this move was not sudden, but did have a recent trigger.
“My concerns had been percolating a while,” Paradis explained, “but what really drove me to speak out was when the Province put out this awful ad.”
With the new minor ball season beginning, a generous donation will be put to use to help the community ball diamonds.
In 2018, the Dalrymple family donated $100,000 to minor ball in Boissevain. As Minor Ball President Chad Reimer explained, the money was to assist the organization with improvements and upkeep with the community’s ball diamonds. After the donation was made, the group wanted to make sure it was spent appropriately.
“We got a committee together,” Reimer stated, “and we did some brainstorming, coming up with ideas. We thought why not use it for legacy projects, not for general maintenance. We have money from our tournaments for that.”
