The President of the AMBM and Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Mr. Ivan Normandeau, issued the following statement following the announcement of the 24 immigration service providers receiving financial support from the Province of Manitoba:

This announcement by the Province was made in a spirit of maintaining existing infrastructure, while focusing on more targeted immigration, particularly by optimizing the capacities of existing stakeholders.

The Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM), a subsidiary of the AMBM, is one of 24 organizations selected under the Newcomer Community Integration Support Program (NCISP) coordinated by the Department of Labour and Immigration. We acknowledge the Province’s continued and strengthened support for CDEM to legitimately continue its key role in the implementation of the Invitation au Manitoba stream of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).

Like the 2022-2025 Strategy to Support Economic Immigration to Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities published by the AMBM in 2022, the Report of the Immigration Advisory Council advocates successful Francophone and bilingual immigration, as well as a shift towards regionalization of immigration. The application of these two lenses is one of the priorities of the AMBM’s 14-member rural bilingual municipalities used to address the major issues they face, starting with a shortage of skilled labour. Achieving this vision will require additional and compelling investments over the coming months and years.

At this point, we understand that the next step following the tabling of the Report of the Immigration Advisory Council will be the development of a formal strategy by the new Advisory Council on Economic Immigration and Settlement (ACEIS) to be created by the Province.

The AMBM and its member municipal governments are eager to continue the work begun with Manitoba Labour and Immigration to help identify constructive and measurable objectives in terms of Francophone and bilingual immigration, with concrete means to achieve them, with a particular emphasis on rural areas.

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