October 27, 2016
Manitoba Government Concludes Budget 2017 Community Consultation Meetings
– – –Manitobans Shared Input, Ideas to Make Manitoba Most Improved Province: Friesen
Manitoba’s new government has heard from hundreds of Manitobans who attended recently completed in-person pre-budget meetings across the province, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said today.
“Manitobans were enthusiastic in sharing their input and ideas as we begin the necessary and hard work of fixing our finances, repairing our services and rebuilding the economy,” said Friesen. “From conversations about supporting small businesses to investing in the north, reducing red tape and investing in education, skills and training, we heard about the priorities Manitobans want to see in Budget 2017.”
Formal presentations from 50 stakeholders representing the business community, rural municipalities and towns, post-secondary institutions, non-profit organizations, health-care providers, First Nations organizations, the arts, sports and francophone communities, and organized labour were heard by an all-party panel and interested Manitobans. Thousands more have submitted their ideas through an interactive budget website and citizen budget tool which will continue to welcome the input and ideas of Manitobans until Dec. 1, the minister noted.
In-person pre-budget consultation meetings were held between Oct. 17 and 26 in Winnipeg, Brandon, Swan River and Thompson as part of the Your Province, Your Plan strategy to include all Manitobans in the creation of Budget 2017.
“Our government inherited significant fiscal challenges resulting from unsustainable growth in spending under the previous administration. The challenge is great and we know that we cannot put Manitoba back on a course to a sustainable economic future without the input of Manitobans,” said Friesen. “We asked Manitobans to be our partners in this important pre-budget work and we are thrilled with the response our initiatives have received.”
The strategy also includes an interactive budget website and a citizen budget tool to help Manitobans learn first-hand about the budget process. The website, www.YourProvinceYourPlan.ca, features an interactive tool that allows individuals to build their own provincial budget on a computer or smart phone. The minister noted Manitoba is the first province in Canada to use this tool for public consultations.
Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 23, nearly 9,000 Manitobans visited the site and more than 600 submissions were made through the interactive citizen budget tool. An additional 68 written submissions were made online, with many more submitted directly to the office of the minister of finance.
Manitobans can continue to share their input with the finance minister via the online tool at www.YourProvinceYourPlan.ca until Dec. 1.
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