Altona Rhineland Economic Development (ARED) used this year’s Advocacy Day at the Manitoba Legislature to push several priorities it says are critical to the region’s long-term growth, from health care staffing and emergency response to agriculture, infrastructure and investment attraction.
Economic Development Officer Stephanie Peters said she attended the event on behalf of both ARED and the Altona District Chamber of Commerce. Advocacy Day is hosted by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and brings local chamber representatives together with provincial ministers and other decision-makers to discuss regional issues.
“We did get an opportunity to meet with several provincial ministers to discuss issues that are impacting rural growth, infrastructure, healthcare, immigration, investment attraction, as well as community safety,” said Peters.
One of the key themes raised by Peters was the need for better access to provincial investment leads and site selector opportunities. She said the region wants a stronger chance to showcase what it can offer when new business and development opportunities arise in Manitoba.
Peters also said the group met with the province’s agriculture minister to talk about the strengths of the local agricultural sector, while also sharing a developers package with ministers and their offices.
“We had an opportunity to talk to the Minister of Agriculture and talk about some of the agricultural strengths that exist within our region,” she said. “We’re able to share the developers package with some of the ministers as well and their offices to help share more about what our region has to offer and how they can better connect us to opportunities.”
Infrastructure was another major focus. Peters said conversations included wastewater capacity, access to water and the need for a long-term strategy to support continued regional growth.
Health care concerns were also brought directly to the province. Peters said they discussed nursing vacancies, physician shortages, reduced ER hours in Altona, paramedic capacity and ambulance response times with the health minister.
Despite the range of concerns raised, Peters said the overall response from ministers and their staff was encouraging.
“Overall the meetings were very positive and provided valuable opportunities to continue to build provincial relationships and advocate for the long-term needs of our region,” she said, adding that follow-up conversations with ministerial offices have continued since the event.
Peters said one of the biggest benefits of taking part in Advocacy Day is the chance to speak directly with those in positions to make decisions.
“I think it’s really important to be able to talk directly to the decision makers about the issues and the concerns that are facing our region,” she said.