Manitoba's Progressive Conservative party wants to reduce red tape for farmers in the province.

PC agriculture critic Blaine Pedersen says the best example of overbearing regulations for Manitoban producers is in the local food industry. Pedersen says it's a growing trend to buy local, but he feels that because of red tape, local farmers and direct marketers are facing disincentives to increase sales.

"Keeping in mind, food safety is always important, and the local growers know this just as much or more than anyone that food safety is important, but make sure the regulations you have in place allow the industry to grow and to be sustainable," Pedersen says.

Another priority for the PCs is to focus on water management. Pedersen says they are committed to quickly starting work on an outlet at Lake Manitoba to help with flooding in nearby areas.

"The NDP have had five years of coffee parties on it and are no closer," Pedersen says. "This is the beginning of what we do for water management, this will not solve all the problems, but this is a good first step. We'll work with other jurisdictions — Saskatchewan, North Dakota, the municipalities, our conservation districts — it's a huge issue we're facing and we will work with all our partners on this."

Pedersen also wants to work toward addressing the issue of farmers' social license. He says his party plans to collaborate with industry and consumers to find solutions in this area.