Manitoba Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba

The Honourable Anita R. Neville, P.C., O.M.

Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference

Remarks by

The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba

MANITOBA FARM WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

Victoria Inn Hotel and Conference Centre

Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 12:00 noon

(please check against delivery)

 

Fellow Manitobans, builders of communities and of a vital engine of our economy and aspect of our provincial identity, it’s a pleasure to join you today.

As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to acknowledge first that we are gathered on Treaty 1 land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis and that our province is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene, Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation and the homeland of the Red River Métis. As well, Manitoba includes northern lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.

As Manitobans, we respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.

All Manitobans have a stake in the success of our agricultural sector.

As a $10 billion-a-year industry, agriculture is a major contributor to our entire province’s economy, supports our food-processing and manufacturing industries, and is the lifeblood of hundreds of healthy communities across the southern half of Manitoba.

And it’s also a way of life for families directly dependent on farming and a living connection to our history and heritage.

As a result, conferences and learning opportunities like this one are important to all Manitobans – even those who will never need to know about soil science, grain marketing or the complexities of farmland valuations and their implications for taxes.

In my earlier career, I was involved in adult and career education programs and I was there when the phrase “lifelong learning” came into regular use.

We’ve known for a long time that everybody needs to keep learning – as the world evolves, as technologies and new discoveries change the nature of work, as new opportunities and new challenges arise.

And agriculture surely leads the way in this, as farmers are continually learning about the latest in plant and animal science, in soil and pest management, in technological developments, in environmental practices.

Your theme for The Farm Women’s Conference – Educate, Encourage, Empower – perfectly captures the idea of lifelong learning. Learning encourages us to take advantages of opportunities and to face challenges. And learning empowers us to take control in our careers and our lives.

I wish you a productive time at this conference, and I hope that the ideas that are brought forward and the relationships you build with your fellow farm women bring all three of those great E words into your life.

Thank you to all the conference organizers and presenters for strengthening an important industry through education and thank you all for your contributions to our province and its many communities.

Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom