AMM delegates grill Naylor on state of highways

MELITA — Municipal leaders grilled the province’s transportation and infrastructure minister on Tuesday over the state of the region’s highways and on the local impacts of the Shellmouth Dam.

A handful of the roughly 100 municipal delegates from towns and rural municipalities across southwestern Manitoba questioned Lisa Naylor over funding decisions at Melita’s Legion Memorial Hall on Tuesday during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities’ Western District meeting.

“What have you invested in western Manitoba lately?” Rural Municipality of Pipestone Reeve Randy Henuset asked Naylor during a Q&A following the minister’s presentation, comparing what the province’s southwest corner has received in funding compared to other regions.

Henuset specifically cited the need for repairs on Highway 83, adding after the meeting that Pipestone’s provincial infrastructure is “getting neglected.”

Other municipal leaders questioned Naylor on the lack of repairs on Highway 21 and Highway 2, and inaction on community main streets that fall under provincial jurisdiction.

A Municipality of Two Borders councillor criticized the amount of money the province plans to spend for an overpass at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 north of Carberry, where a crash in 2023 claimed 17 lives.

Peter Downey said the $100 million is a “little excessive” in contrast to the lack of funding for the intersection of Highway 83 and the Trans-Canada Highway west of Virden.

He said that money might be better spent by dividing it between all of the province’s municipalities.

Naylor said the overpass funding is important because of the strong advocacy from Carberry-area residents following the 2023 crash.

The province had originally presented an RCUT intersection model as its preferred option instead of an overpass, at about one-fifth the cost, but residents strongly opposed that plan and demanded an overpass, largely due to safety concerns.

Val Caldwell, deputy reeve of the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, stressed the importance of the province consulting with municipalities on the Shellmouth Dam.

“It’s time that we step up and start supporting our producers,” Caldwell said.

“If we had the Corral Centre in Brandon flooded and those businesses were underwater, people would pay attention,” she said.

Caldwell said if farmland is to be sacrificed instead of people’s homes, the farmers need to be compensated.

She said 40,000 acres are affected by the Shellmouth Dam along the Assiniboine River, 12,000 of which are in her municipality.

Other delegates brought up the paramedic shortage and the issue of wait times for ambulances in rural areas.

Naylor told the Sun after the meeting that speaking with local leaders is “fantastic” as she can get a sense of what is important in a regional sense, and informs her and the provincial government for future decisions.

“It’s really a privilege to get to come out into these communities and hear directly from people about what impacts their lives every day,” Naylor said.

She said the issues raised by local officials will be taken back to her department.

The NDP government is spending more money on infrastructure every year, Naylor said, adding she’s “very happy” with her government’s investment in both highway and water capital programs since the NDP came to power in October 2023.

Delegates also voted on a number of resolutions on Tuesday, varying from improving rural health care, changing how problematic residents can be removed from council meetings and allowing municipalities to burn down derelict buildings.

All of the resolutions passed, some without much, or any, debate.

Melita Mayor Bill Holden said hosting the AMM meeting is a positive for the town, as it gets provincial representatives into the community, some for the first time.

He said the meetings are also important for networking with local leaders in the rest of the region.

Kathy Valentino, AMM’s president and a City of Thompson councillor, at the start of the meeting highlighted the work from the House of Commons on bail reform, or Bill C-14, which the AMM has advocated for in recent years in an effort to make Manitoba’s communities safer.

The legislation makes it more difficult for accused persons to get bail for a variety of crimes, including some vehicle thefts, extortion and human trafficking offences.

It also allows for consecutive sentences for repeat violent offences, vehicle theft, breaking and entering, extortion and arson.

Tuesday’s approved resolutions will be voted on again during the AMM’s fall convention in Brandon from Nov. 24-26.

Resolutions that were passed at AMM’s other six regional meetings will also be debated at the fall convention.

The Midwestern District meeting takes place today in Minnedosa, while the Parkland District meeting in Dauphin is on Thursday.

Municipal and Northern Relations Minster Glen Simard, the MLA for Brandon East, said his government will be looking at the resolutions as they are passed.

» alambert@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press