Some landowners along the Bipole III transmission line route are creating challenges for the contractors involved with the project. There have been reports of some property owners blocking access to their property, in protest of the line. Progressive Conservative Hydro Critic and Lakeside MLA Ralph Eichler says these delays were a foreseeable consequence, given the lack of public involvement in the decisions made on the project, particularly when it comes to compensation for the expropriated lands.

"The government feels they're doing enough to compensate the farmer. What they seem to forget is that if you have an irrigation system, use airplanes to crop dust, or even seed for that matter, that land isn't just the little piece of tower (the government) pretends they took, it's also that line that goes across the property that limits them in their ability to do what they want to do."

Eichler says there's a real dissatisfaction among the landowners affected by the project, and he's not surprised to see some taking measures to delay the project.

people ralph eichler apr182012
Ralph Eichler

"I've met with a number of these folks over the last number of years, once the government decided they'd take this route, which was not necessarily preferred by Manitoba Hydro. The government decided to take this route, and it didn't matter who was in the way or what it would take to get it done. This is the route they wanted to take so this is what they're doing, and these farmers won't be bullied, beat up, or penalized for it. They're pushing back, and that's their right."

When it comes to finding a solution to the current delays, Eichler says it's all about consultation. He says only by involving the landowners, and the general public in the decision could a satisfactory resolution be reached.

"First of all, you start over. That's the first thing you got to do. You need to sit down with those impacted by it, and others as well. It's not just those in the direct route where they go across the land, It's also the neighbours and communities that are impacted by this line. It's more than just farmers, if they'd been listening to the general public, they would have never chosen the route that they did."

PC leader Brian Pallister previously committed to reevaluation the Bipole III Transmission line if the PCs formed government in this year's election. However, questions still remain surrounding the viability of changing the route of the project at this stage.