AMBM President and Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Mr. Ivan Normandeau, issued this statement following the announcement of a $15.6 million investment from the Building Sustainable Communities (BSC) and the Urban/Hometown Green Team programs to support approximately 500 projects in Manitoba’s bilingual municipalities in 2023-2024:
This joint announcement was made on Friday, July 7th, 2023 by the Minister of Municipal Relations, Andrew Smith, and the Minister of Families and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs, Rochelle Squires. We would like to extend our warmest thanks to both ministers for their leadership and ongoing collaboration. We are also grateful to the team at the Department of Municipal Relations who work tirelessly to support the development of our bilingual communities.
According to the Province’s news release, close to 40 per cent of the BSC program’s total budget of $25 million was allocated to 136 projects in bilingual municipalities, including $8.9 million for 107 projects in Winnipeg and close to $1.1 million in support of 29 regional projects. The BSC program supports planning activities, community and regional initiatives, and capital infrastructure projects by municipalities and not-for-profit organizations to create sustainable communities that provide a high quality of life.
Under the Urban/Hometown Green Team program, projects in bilingual municipalities accounted for almost 60 per cent of the total envelope of $9.6 million. In fact, $5.2 million was awarded to 321 Winnipeg projects and nearly $400,000 to 37 regional projects. This program aims to create summer employment opportunities for young people, while supporting projects designed to improve neighborhoods, foster community involvement and stimulate the local economy.
With this investment, the Manitoba government is honouring its Budget 2023 commitment to keep these programs in place, and demonstrating that it is listening to the needs of our communities. It also celebrates and values our province’s bilingual character, helping to create the winning conditions to build increasingly prosperous, sustainable and welcoming Francophone and bilingual communities.
By providing financial support for numerous community projects on our territory, the Manitoba government is actively participating in the deployment of our members’ priorities, in line with the Economic Recovery Strategy for Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities and the Strategy to Support Economic Immigration to Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities.
We are already seeing the tangible impact of these important programs in our member municipalities. It just goes to show that a strong, direct provincial-municipal partnership produces measurable results.
Ultimately, the winning conditions are in place to continue and expand our collaboration with the Manitoba government, with a view to improving municipal services in both official languages and playing a full part in our province’s robust economic recovery.
The Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (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 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).
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (B-CDD), 204-289-4077, [email protected].
