The President of the AMBM President and Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Mr. Ivan Normandeau, and the Mayor of the Rural Municipality of Taché, Mr. Armand Poirier, issued this joint statement following today’s announcement in Lorette of a provincial investment of $5 million for the construction of the new Taché Community Centre:

It is with gratitude and enthusiasm that we welcome this major announcement by Premier Wab Kinew and Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations Ian Bushie. This $5-million investment by the Manitoba government will enable the Rural Municipality of Taché to begin construction of this major new infrastructure in November 2024, much to the delight of local families. The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2026.

We are thrilled to see Wab Kinew and his team make good on the commitment they made during the fall 2023 provincial campaign.

The new Taché Community Centre highlights the crucial importance of partnership between the various orders of government when it comes to infrastructure. It is a concrete example of a strategic investment that has a direct impact on the development and vitality of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs).

Once again, the Manitoba government is demonstrating its understanding of the impact of this type of infrastructure investment on the future of its official language minority.

For the AMBM and its members, it is crucial that infrastructure funding programs, especially federal ones, incorporate positive measures for OLMCs.

A true flagship project for the AMBM and its members in terms of infrastructure, the Taché Community Centre is destined to become one of the symbols representing the added value of French in the strength of bilingualism in Manitoba.

This type of infrastructure will contribute significantly to bringing the population together in an inclusive approach, as well as normalizing life and socialization in both official languages in our province.

Ultimately, the new centre will become an anchor for the Rural Municipality of Taché, contributing to its reputation as a great place to live, and as an attractive, welcoming and inclusive rural Francophone and bilingual community.

Moreover, the project is perfectly aligned with the Notice on the 16 Strategic Priorities of Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipal Leadership (2023), the Strategy to Support Economic Immigration in Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities, as well as the new Municipal Maturity Model (3M) adopted by the province’s 15 rural bilingual municipalities in recent months.

The people of Taché have always believed in their dream, believing that their new centre would represent a priceless legacy for future generations. For 30 years, community leaders have worked tirelessly to make this project a reality. They built a convincing case, based on solid, evidence-based data, which won the general support of the local population, and then that of all orders of government.

We would also like to highlight the important contribution of two AMBM subsidiaries to the project. First, the Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba, or CDEM), which supported the efforts to obtain the funding needed to integrate the seniors’ group Le Centre des Blés d’or de Lorette into the centre. As well, Eco-West Canada supported the municipality by developing proposals for the centre’s construction, ensuring a sustainable development lens for the project.

The AMBM is the voice of bilingual municipal leadership in the province of Manitoba. It represents 16 local governments committed to offering 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 head of the AMBM Group, a consortium of three organizations with complementary mandates: the AMBM, the Economic Development Council of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (Conseil de développement des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba or CDEM) and Eco-West Canada (EWC), which specializes in the green economy. Complementing each other, these three organizations actively contribute to the development, vitality and sustainability of the province’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) and the province as a whole.

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