Ivan Normandeau, AMBM President, along with both mayors of the bilingual municipalities of Taché and Ritchot, Justin Bohemier and Chris Ewen, issued this joint statement following the announcement of an investment of nearly $110 million under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for the construction of a new regional wastewater treatment facility. This funding will have a significant impact on our participating member bilingual municipalities, as well as other municipalities in the region:
The announcement was made Thursday, August 18th, 2022, by Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Reg Helwer, Minister of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services, and Stan Toews, Chair, Red-Seine-Rat (RSR) Wastewater Cooperative.
We welcome this major investment for our bilingual municipalities made through close collaboration between all three orders of government. The joint funding will result in increased capacity to treat and manage wastewater and stormwater, improve the environmental stewardship of the region, and encourage continued economic growth. The Red-Seine-Rat (RSR) wastewater treatment facility and conveyance system will provide the municipalities of Niverville, Taché, Hanover and Ritchot with a new regional facility to help meet the current and future needs of a growing population.
This project is added to other water infrastructure projects recently approved under the same ICIP program in Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities. Among them, more than $7.2 million was granted to replace the pumping station in St. Adolphe in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot and $1.4 million was approved for the wastewater lagoon system in Ward 4 of the Rural Municipality of Alexander. The AMBM would like to thank the provincial and federal governments for their ongoing commitment to invest in bilingual municipalities to build greener and more sustainable communities, thereby contributing to the vitality and developments of our Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs).
This latest infrastructure commitment is directly related with the measures targeted by the AMBM in our Municipal Economic Recovery Strategy, which promotes accelerated green economic recovery and long-term vitality for the Francophone and bilingual communities involved.
This new project will create the winning conditions to continue to grow and thrive for many years to come. While this infrastructure can easily be seen as an implicit benefit, it is certainly not insignificant as it will enhance the business competitiveness and residential growth of our communities. These will become more welcoming, even attractive, namely to newcomers wishing to settle and integrate. Their growth will be tangible and positive, built on long-term prosperity.
Moreover, the newly announced regional wastewater treatment facility reiterates the participants’ willingness to work together and find sustainable, community-orientated solutions. It highlights the importance of all three orders of government working together to develop sustainable and prosperous solutions for all.
We would like to extend our thanks to all the partners involved in this announcement, and all those who have made this project possible.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, [email protected].
