While the province's budget consultation, slated earlier this month in Winkler, was cancelled, Finance Minister Adrien Sala and David Pankratz, the MLA for Waverly, did meet with some groups in the area.
Western School Division Vice Chair Darcy Wolfe shared a bit about the board's meeting with the minister.
"Last week, we had the great opportunity to sit down and speak with the Finance Minister of Manitoba Minister Sala, and we were able to sit down and have a nice friendly chat. We touched on many different topics, some related to education and some more, just kind of a general broad topics, as his portfolio of finance really touches on a little bit of everything."
Wolfe mentioned a few topics discussed.
"We got a chance to talk about topics like immigration, the rapid growth rate of our area here in Morden, about the great needs of mental health, teacher shortages. We spoke about our wonderful Adult Ed program here in Morden. I think we had a really good meeting."
With budget season the focus of these visits, Wolfe was pleased with how the time was spent.
"I feel like the Minister, really heard what we had to say. He was very attentive and very friendly. We tried to give him some ideas of solutions we might have as a school board for helping with some of the issues surrounding those topics. He was busy writing down, taking notes so, we hope that he reads those notes later and we can continue to work with this government."
Wolfe recognized the rare opportunity it is to speak with the finance minister.
"This is a really a great opportunity. We really appreciate the way this government has been in the area and has been open to having meetings with us. So, we hope that relationship continues, and we can continue having meetings and be advocates for the needs of Morden, Western School Division, and a whole area.
Minister Adrien Sala submitted a statement about the brief time in the Pembina Valley.
“I always enjoy coming to the Pembina Valley and appreciate how welcoming and friendly people are when I visit. I spent a productive time in Winkler meeting with various groups and hearing what they want to see in the upcoming budget. It was great to connect with folks in Pembina Valley, and a top priority for many people was wastewater infrastructure, as well as health care and affordability, something we’ve heard from many Manitobans as we craft this year’s budget. We’ve committed to providing stable and predictable funding to municipalities to help with their infrastructure needs and look forward to delivering a budget that addresses some of those concerns.”
A new date for the Town Hall Budget Consultations will be announced in the coming days. Engage Manitoba website will have more details on the consultation process.