Manitoba government tells municipalities faster snow-clearing, more money for police coming

The NDP government promised new help for rural Manitoba to an audience full of municipal reeves and councillors Thursday.

Municipal leaders lined up to the microphones to ask questions of the province during the two-hour ministerial forum, which was part of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' annual fall convention held in Brandon, Man., this week.

Some of those answers yielded insights into the province's priorities

The province said it's trying to get 24/7 snow-clearing available on some of Manitoba's biggest highways by next winter, on top of more money for policing and the reopening of some rural agricultural offices that were shut down under the previous Progressive Conservative government.

Premier Wab Kinew said thecommitments are a sign his government is listening to what municipalities want.

"I think it's really, really important that we go beyond what we've been saying in our speeches about wanting to collaborate and get on with the business of actually working together," he said.

The NDP government said it plans to boost spending for police. Kinew said local and First Nations forces, along with the RCMP, will get more money.

That news was welcomed byWinkler Mayor Henry Siemens, who said provincial police funding hasn't gone up in years.

"We can't continue to go back when there is, in this instance, an offloading of a cost to the municipality, and then having to go back to our ratepayers to make it up," he said.

But the premier and his ministers also stressed the province's financial limitations throughout the forum.

"Unfortunately, the vault doesn't have as much cash as we were led to believe," said Ron Kostyshyn, minister for agriculture.

More snow clearing also announced

Kinew also announced the creation of a blue-ribbon infrastructure panel to improve conditions of the province's roads, highways, buildings and water.

Kinew saidthe panel will be co-chaired by Carly Edmundson, CEO of CentrePort Canada, and Scott Phillips, a councillor for the rural municipality of Sifton. The NDP first promised the infrastructure panel during their election campaign.

Both the Premier and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor didn't said which highways would be affected. Naylor said while she couldn't give a full list of roads off the top of her head, she cited Highway 75 as a good example that could benefit from 24/7 service.

Naylor also said any major highways in the province that are needed to be used 24 hours a day would be up for consideration.

"If we can begin to implement that service it means that those highways that are used for transportation 24 hours a day, especially with moving goods in and out of the province will be able to continue to work throughout the night when the highways are clear at all times," she said.

NDP looking to reopen agriculturaloffices

Kinew said the province is "looking at the options" in terms of reopening agricultural offices in rural Manitoba. He said it was heard loud and clear that many communities felt the hit when they lost their rural offices.

Kostyshyn also said there are some "geographical areas" that are worth considering and people waiting would find out where those would be "in the very near future."

Minister of economic development, investment and trade Jamie Moses said expanding the number of offices will help communities.The province's former PC government previously closed 21 agricultural offices in 2021.

"Bringing them back and expanding out our ag offices is a great way to revitalize some of these local rural communities."

New NDP government promises more help for rural Manitoba

10 months ago

Duration 1:46

Premier Wab Kinew and some of his NDP cabinet ministers made a number of pledges Thursday, as they stood before an audience full of municipal reeves and councillors at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' annual fall convention in Brandon, Man.