I have always believed it is not only critical to listen to residents concerns. It is even more essential to take action to address those concerns.
Which is why I was happy to announce that our government is responding to feedback from municipalities to help take a co-ordinated approach on bringing unlicensed drainage works into compliance and achieve best value from the licensing system.
Our government is listening to our municipal partners and taking further steps to streamline how we administer licensing for legacy drainage infrastructure. Allowing multiple projects on a single licence provides greater value for money for municipalities and taxpayers.
Our government and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities are working together on a legacy drainage licensing project. Additionally, the Manitoba government is encouraging municipalities to bundle connected legacy drainage projects together into one application to provide greater value and encourage a watershed approach to drain maintenance. The minister noted that this approach has several benefits, including:
co-ordinating legacy drainage projects on a single licence for maintenance purposes;
defraying the cost of the licence over multiple projects, providing greater value for money for municipalities and ratepayers; and
encouraging a planned approach to drainage maintenance on a watershed basis.
“The Association of Manitoba Municipalities commends the Manitoba government for taking action to address long-standing municipal concerns related to drainage project approvals. This new initiative will not only streamline the approvals process but also significantly reduce costs for municipalities,” said Kam Blight, president, Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
The Manitoba government is also working to enhance drainage compliance across the province, including enhanced resources for enforcement in Budget 2023 and a review of pre-set fine levels to bring these into line with the new licensing and registration model.