Northern business and political leaders had an opportunity to influence Manitoba’s next provincial budget.
The provincial government held a meeting at Flin Flon City Hall on Oct. 16 as part of the consultation process for the 2019-20 provincial budget. Officials from Winnipeg, including Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding, described how the province plans to tackle the government deficit and maintain funding for vital programs.
“We were able to do a bit of a round table, talking about some issues regarding the north,” said Flin Flon Mayor Cal Huntley, who attended the meeting.
“We did a presentation and speaking points around things like exploration and the carbon tax, things like that.”
One meeting for northwestern Manitoba communities is usually held to consult with community leaders and municipal officials each year in the months before the release of the budget. A similar meeting was held in The Pas last year. Other consultations were also held last week in Brandon, Dauphin, Selkirk and Thompson and more are scheduled in the lead up to the final document’s release.
“As a government we know it’s important to talk to people in rural and northern communities and listen to their advice. It was a great discussion in Flin Flon and I want to thank Mayor Huntley for hosting us,” said Minister Fielding.
It is too early to tell if or how the consultation will affect the Manitoba budget for the next fiscal year. The budget will not be released until next spring, but the development process for the province’s next set of financial priorities has been underway for months.
City administrator Glenna Daschuk also attended the meeting, and said that it was held to ensure issues with a particular impact on northerners were identified.
“They addressed the fact that the north is a very important part of the province. The people in attendance stressed the fact that the north is looking for support from the province. They did not make a commitment, and the municipality is not in a position to ask for specific items - that’s not what this is about,” she said.
“They were looking for feedback about municipal priorities on what the province can do and looking for their priorities.”
Huntley feels the meeting was productive and that key concerns were addressed.
“The meeting was good, it was very participative. As to the actual results we get, we don’t know, but it was a good, consultative meeting,” said Huntley.
“Businesses and education were represented around the table from both communities.”
