AMBM President Ivan Normandeau issued the following statement at the unveiling of the projects receiving funding through the PWFEDF for the province of Manitoba:
The Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM) offers its warmest congratulations to the promoters of these five outstanding Manitoba projects, which have received funding from the Pan-West Francophone Economic Development Fund (PWFEDF):
- Fort Ellice, St. Lazare: Development of a provincial historic site into an eco-tourism site ($40,000);
- Pont des Pionniers Trail, La Broquerie: Construction of a bridge linking the business district to the new residential park and completing the Municipality’s tourist trail system ($30,000);
- New Centre Flavie-Laurent Boutique, St. Boniface: Expansion of the Centre Flavie-Laurent by opening a boutique to generate equity and create new support programs for the community ($16,500);
- Dawson Trail Development Strategy, from St. Boniface to Richer (including Lorette, St. Anne and St. Genevieve): A commemorative trail anchored by the Centre of Canada, including an artist tour ($30,000);
- Creation of a multimedia production studio, St. Boniface: Installation of a digital production studio dedicated to video/podcast shooting and post-production by Presse-Ouest limitée ($20,000).
We are delighted for the communities that will host these projects and benefit from their spin-offs. These initiatives supported by the PWFEDF will be deployed in Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities and will help strengthen the partnership we are building on a daily basis with the Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs). Each of these innovative projects will contribute to the development and vitality of our province’s OLMCs.
We also congratulate the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM) for its leadership in the field within the framework of the PWFEDF. A subsidiary of the AMBM Group, CDEM is one of four Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs) in Western Canada mandated by Western Economic Diversification (WD) to coordinate the PWFEDF across Western Canada.
As reflected in our Economic Recovery Strategy 2021-2024, community economic development is a top priority for Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities.
In the coming years, we hope to see federal-municipal partnerships grow. We look forward to a massive reinvestment in community economic development within our bilingual communities to build the capacity of organizations, businesses, developers and economic teams within our municipalities themselves.
The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 15 local governments committed to providing services to their citizens in both official languages.
Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership is also at the helm of the AMBM Group, a consortium of three complementary organizations: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (CDEM), and Eco-West Canada (EWC) which has specialized in the green economy since 2008. These three complementary organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs), including the French-speaking Métis.
Information: Justin Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, 204-289-4077, [email protected].
