AMM visits Ritchot and Niverville during provincial tour of Eastern region

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities visited different regions in the province last month and made stops in Ritchot and Niverville last week, as part of its eastern tour, where it heard their concerns and offered advice and support.

“So, it’s interesting because when we do these visits, we really do start to hear a common theme amongst municipalities right across the province, and these two municipalities in the East were no different than what we’ve been hearing,” said AMM president Kathy Valentino.

The AMM tours municipalities in the beginning of each year with the aim of meeting with all 137 members over a four-to-five-year span. In 2025, AMM advocated for increases of two percent in municipal funding from the province for operations, public safety, and infrastructure, including an increase to the Manitoba Water Services Board.

“It’s so oversubscribed with projects in our province,” said Valentino about the board.

Valentino said growth in water and wastewater infrastructure projects were very important in the eastern region and that an increase in funding for the Manitoba Water Services Board will “get some of those projects moving.”

One of those projects is the Red-Seine-Rat Wastewater Co-operative, a wastewater treatment plant near Niverville, which is slated to begin construction this year. It recently received $22 million from the federal and provincial governments for the estimated $234 million project. The plant is expected to be completed by 2028.

Other municipal priorities include the need for funding opportunities for economic growth, such as funding for housing and opportunities that can be found with Manitoba Hydro.

Another issue was a change to the general operating fund model that is used by the province. Valentino said inflation has increased costs and the operating dollars for municipalities isn’t keeping up with those increases.

“So, both (Ritchot and Niverville) had that as a priority to continue to advocate for a funding model that’s different and a little bit more up-to-date,” said Valentino, noting this is a priority for AMM which was looking at a base funding model with an escalator built in so municipalities can more easily forecast budgets.

“So, some escalator could be built into the GDP that comes out of that town that contributes back to the economy or maybe it’s through tourism. Like there’s lots of different options that we need to discuss and be creative and come up with a new funding model for the operating dollars for municipalities,” she said.

The administration of school taxes was another issue brought up to AMM, which will work with the Manitoba School Board Association this year “to work out a model that might work best for both parties (provincial and municipal) involved.”

Infrastructure was also brought up as a concern, especially the lack of provincial drain maintenance as municipalities felt there needed to be a more coordinated effort between them and the province.

“It’s just not working. There’s no coordinated system that seems to be working properly,” said Valentino.

A lack of RCMP officers in rural and small urban communities was also an issue and how the use of community safety officers within those municipalities could address issues of public safety. As well, in conjunction with the province, AMM has recently been lobbying the federal government regarding changes to the Criminal Code, such as bail reform and protections for first responders.

Valentino was in Ottawa on Monday where she addressed the House of Commons’ standing committee on justice and human rights which is looking at Bill C-14, the Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defence Act (bail and sentencing), which was introduced by the Liberal government in October.

“Across Manitoba, our residents are concerned about crime. Almost nine in 10 support bail reform and criminal code changes to address repeat offending. Sixty-nine percent report being personally worried about crime. These concerns continue to grow as repeat offenders are frequently being released on bail. These risks are especially acute in Manitoba, which has among the highest violent crime rates in Canada,” Valentino told the committee. She noted her riding of Thompson, where she is a city councillor, had the largest RCMP contract in Manitoba and is typically rated number one in the Crime Severity Index.