The President of the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce says it was the perfect setting for entertaining the Premier of our province.
At the request of the Chamber, Premier Heather Stefanson met with a group of Steinbach leaders in the sixth-floor boardroom of Steinbach Credit Union, overlooking multi-million-dollar construction projects at both the arena and hospital.
Chamber President Christine Beaumont says they had been working on arranging this meeting since the start of the year, wanting the current Premier to come visit Steinbach and give the chance for community leaders to have a direct conversation with her. And Beaumont says it is her opinion that those present Wednesday morning, felt heard.
"We talked about issues like economic development, immigration, we talked about mental health, we talked about crime," says Beaumont. "We really in one hour got to talk about a lot of different issues and got a sense of where the province is going and where their priorities are and so it was great."
Beaumont refers to the atmosphere as collaborative and conversational, noting the guest list of about 20 individuals was more than just Chamber members, and included Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, some members of Steinbach City Council and even non-profits and social services.
"I think the Premier was able to get a good sense of what are some of the barriers and what are some of the issues," adds Beaumont. "And also, maybe a sense of the type of community we are, which is one that bands together and is progressive and innovative and just looking forward towards more growth and a more enhanced quality of life for all of us."
According to Stefanson, what she heard from the group on Wednesday is not that much different from what other leaders are saying in other communities across our province. But she says different communities might have unique ways of addressing certain challenges. Stefanson says there was good discussion surrounding mental health addictions and living with disabilities.
"Some of the challenges are very much seen across the province and I think that this is just great to be around a table and have this discussion about how we can work together towards a better future for this region and for our province," she adds.
Meanwhile, Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk says it was incredible to be able to host the Premier of our province. He says from time to time, City Council will have the opportunity to meet the Premier but what was unique about this experience is that they had a full hour of her undivided attention. Not only that, but Funk says following the meeting he was able to talk with her more specifically about some of the concerns facing Steinbach.
Funk says one of the concerns has to do with infrastructure funding. He feels the Premier and her government are very committed to urban centres and municipalities outside of Winnipeg. In fact, Funk says the Premier noted how Steinbach is growing at a much quicker rate than most communities in Manitoba and that her government will continue to work with Steinbach to ensure that growth continues. Funk says rather than using a cookie-cutter approach, the Premier wants to provide assistance in a way that is tailored to Steinbach.
Funk says he made it known to the Premier that with the rising costs of construction, Steinbach will need an increase in funding just to complete the same number of projects.
"It sounded like that's a commitment that they would go after," he says.
Funk notes another concern within Steinbach is crime and particularly street racing on Main Street. He notes the Premier is committed to continue pushing the federal government to change its bail laws so that criminals are not constantly released from prison within 24 hours of being arrested.
"That was exciting to hear today that they are working on it, they will continue to work on it post-election," adds Funk. "So, I'm very excited that we will start to see a reduction in crime if the consequences of crime are stronger."
In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, SteinbachOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the SteinbachOnline app.