The Manitoba government promises to establish a new trades training centre for northern Manitoba, but it’s not saying where it will be located.
The centre was among the pledges outlined in Monday’s throne speech to open the fall session of the legislature.
In a news release, the province said it would work in partnership with University College of the North to establish the centre to “help northern students take advantage of northern jobs…created by the mining sector, Manitoba Hydro and infrastructure projects.”
The release mentioned no location for the centre. A provincial spokesperson confirmed the location was not being released at this time, and that The Reminder would be informed when the announcement is ready.
In the throne speech, the province also pledged a new Growing Communities Fund to build and renew roads, bridges, water and sewer infrastructure, and recreation centres.
A promise also came to invest more in after-school programs in northern and rural Manitoba, though no locations or dollar amounts were specified.
Other promises in the speech included:
• Investments in community-based strategies to expand the local production of healthy foods across the North and work with producers in the agriculture sector to bring local foods to new markets.
• Partnerships with local communities to expand cellphone service and broadband across Manitoba.
• Roads to connect First Nations communities, such as Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (Nelson House), and a broadened mandate for the East Side Road Authority to build an all-weather road to connect the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation with the rest of Manitoba.
• Promotion of Churchill as a tourism destination and gateway to the north with world-class research facilities in Arctic science.
• An extension of the core infrastructure plan to invest $10 billion in building and repairing roads, bridges and flood protection throughout the province by 2020.
• Stable, predictable and long-term funding to municipalities.
• Work with Indigenous communities on sustainable development, including new support for Indigenous land-use planning.
