The RM of Portage la Prairie, as well as the City Council of Portage and Portage Regional Economic Development (PRED), recently engaged in a productive three-hour discussion with the provincial government. Three ministers and four MLAs were in attendance. Kam Blight, the Reeve of the RM, expressed excitement about showcasing the region's successes and challenges.

"Any chance we get to speak about the RM of Portage la Prairie, or the Portage la Prairie region, is always very exciting for me and it's something I'm very passionate about," Blight shares. "Anytime we can sit there, promote and speak about all the wonderful things that are going on in our community, we certainly welcome it. When you can have multiple ministers out here as well as MLAs, you'll get a better grasp of what's made our region so successful and what makes our area so wonderful. We're able to speak to all the great things our municipalities have to offer. That was truly exciting and full credit to the province of Manitoba for coming out to try and better understand municipalities across the province. We are certainly appreciative of the opportunity to bring forward all the amazing successes that we have, and the challenges that we are facing."

Blight emphasized the hurdles faced in water and wastewater treatment due to federal and provincial regulations that are hindering economic opportunities. He stressed the need for collaborative efforts to overcome these challenges.

Eve O'Leary, PRED Director, highlighted the positive collaboration between the City Council, RM Council, and PRED, forming the basis for attracting investments.

"One of the most favourable things for me to do in my position is to promote the success stories of PRED." O'Leary explains, "We really talked about the key collaboration being the foundations of why we're seeing so many investments. This happens within our own business community and then external investors coming into the community, too. That really comes down to the relationship between the city and the RM, then allowing PRED to do the economic development piece." 

Both Blight and O'Leary appreciated the province's initiative and thanked them for the opportunity to share insights. O'Leary reflected on the meeting as a chance to showcase the impactful work done by various committees.