On December 4th, 2023, AMBM President and Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Ivan Normandeau, met with the Honourable Ian Bushie, Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations and Minister of Indigenous Economic Development, and Robert Loiselle, Legislative Assistant to the Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Boniface, along with AMBM CEO Justin Johnson. 

Together, the leaders discussed the AMBM Group and its impact across Manitoba, and they took stock of many of the elements contained within the Notice on the 16 Strategic Priorities of Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipal Leadership produced by the AMBM. In particular, they discussed: 

• The AMBM’s leadership, recognized by the Minister, in designing and now implementing the Municipal Maturity Model (3M), a Canadian first in the municipal world; this new framework will enhance bilingual municipal services through a strengthened municipal-provincial partnership. 
• The critical importance of all three orders of government working closely together to build stronger, more attractive local communities, and coordinating their efforts to implement sustainable solutions to today’s major challenges, including bilingual service delivery, municipal infrastructure, economic development and a bilingual workforce. 
• Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities are striving for growth and prosperity. To achieve this, it is crucial to support this growth with the right tools, resources and structure. 
• The Minister emphasized the importance of joining forces, filling the gaps to meet needs, knowing where collaboration is needed and nurturing interdepartmental discussions to address issues ranging from strategic infrastructure and economic immigration to affordable housing, interregional transportation and connectivity. 

The meeting also enabled the AMBM to reaffirm its mission to represent 15 local governments committed to providing services in both official languages, and to actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs). 

In closing, the parties confirmed the alignment of their values and their mutual interest in working together to build stronger, more prosperous, attractive and resilient bilingual communities, for the benefit of all Manitobans. 

The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 15 local governments committed to providing services in both official languages to their citizens. Together, these municipalities represent the majority of Manitoba’s population. 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 of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which specializes in the green economy. These three complementary organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs).

Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, [email protected].