RM of Sifton Councillor, Scott Phillips, is vying for the Vice President's chair with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM).
Phillips is involved in multiple facets of local and provincial government including being a member of the Western Caucus, and co-chair of the Provincial initiative the Blue Ribbon Infrastructure Panel. He's been on the Board of Directors with the AMM and feels he can make a greater impact across the province as AMM's VP.
"I'm very fortunate to have the relationships that I've had with the past MLA's and Ministers, and the current MLA's and Ministers and the Premier, and I thank the ratepayers in the RM of Sifton for voting me in and encouraging me and pushing me," shares Phillips. "And I thank all the municipal leaders who have introduced me over the years to upper management in government, and the relationships have just flourished."
"I think I have strong relationships with the current government and can help our municipalities in a greater way in a larger role as vice president of the AMM."
Phillips says it's been a busy week for him, marking a significant milestone in his term in municipal government with meetings in Ottawa. Upon returning back to his home in Deleau he was back in meetings again.
"I was in Ottawa for 3 days and then today (Thursday) we had a zoom meeting with Deputy Minister Wiebe and nine different municipalities and towns impacted by the Blue Hills RCMP Detachment and how they are going to potentially cover Riverdale now that their police force is temporarily on hiatus," shares Phillips. "I don't know all the ins and outs about that but as of now that police force is not in service."
"I don't know if that [police force] is coming back or not but we're all working together to come up with a good solution to make sure the police services are covered all the way from the east border of the RM of Sifton to the far east border of the municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress, up to Riverdale and then down to Souris-Glenwood. So, it was a very good meeting that we had on that."
Phillips says there was a good representation from the municipalities involved, as well as provincial representation on the call to field questions. "They explained how this was all going to work and where the RCMP officers will be stationed," he adds. "There are a few things yet to work out but there were a few delegates on the call and the Minister had a fair number of staff on board to handle questions and concerns. Minister Wiebe assured us that the ship will sail smooth. But we'll wait and see."
In putting his name on the VP ballot box for the AMM, Phillips said it was a difficult decision, simply because in order to do so he had to step down as an AMM Board Member. However, he says working in the two levels of government is very gratifying and he's looking forward to advocating more for Manitobans, not only in the Westman Region but across the entire province.
Please listen to more with Scott Phillips below!