Hopes are high for newly established blue ribbon panel

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This article was published 27/03/2024 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first meeting of the newly established Blue-Ribbon Panel on Infrastructure was held Tuesday afternoon and at least some of its members believe it’s not your standard blue ribbon panel.

It’s not unusual for a government to forge an advisory group made up of a variety of people from outside government to make recommendations about particular sectoral funding and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor did not try to sell it as extraordinary. But she at least believes it’s especially representative.

“We have made a real effort to be sure we have geographic diversity to bring ideas to the table from across the province,” she said.

The 12-person panel is co-chaired by Carly Edmundson, CEO of CentrePort, and Scott Phillips, councillor of the RM of Sifton, who’s also on the board of the Association of the Manitoba Municipalities.

It also includes a strong Indigenous representation including Dennis Meeches, former chief of Long Plains First Nation and a significant player in Treaty One Development’s Naawi-Oodena project; Larson Anderson, Chief of Norway House Cree Nation; and Heidi Cook, Chief of Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids).

There’s also union presence, other rural representatives as well as some who are more directly involved in infrastructure planning and execution like Chris Lorenc, the CEO of Manitoba Heavy Construction Association and Jennifer Freeman, executive director of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region.

The terms of reference for the group is to meet no less than 10 times per year and it does not have a stated end date.

“Primarily they are going to help inform us on our ongoing five-year capital plan for infrastructure, which is an evolving, living document,” she said.

While Naylor did not suggest that her government would radically diverge from traditional infrastructure decision-making drivers like safety and maintenance of aging infrastructure, some on the panel have higher goals.

One panel member who spoke before Tuesday’s meeting and asked not to be named, said, “I think what the government is looking for is recommendations about what is going to help our economy and how do we align infrastructure so it’s not just the proverbial filling of potholes but rather being more strategic about how infrastructure enables growth.”

Premier Wab Kinew had said during the election campaign that an advisory group on infrastructure would be established.

Lorenc, who has a deep understanding of the importance of trade to the provincial economy, representing about 57 per cent of the provincial GDP and about 240,000 direct and indirect jobs, believes it is a sign this government is going the extra mile.

“It’s the first time I can recall a sitting premier convening a diverse group of individuals for the purpose of soliciting advice on what the criteria for investment should look like,” he said.

Jennifer Freeman said that capital spending on infrastructure is one of strategic importance to the capital region.

“We are definitely very excited and proud that we have been invited to join this blue ribbon panel,” she said. “It is exactly what we are working toward — a coordinated approach to strategic infrastructure investment.”

Naylor said to “stay tuned” to next week’s provincial budget to learn more about the budget allotment for this type of investment. Past administrations have said they would invest no less than $500 million annually on highways.

“Under the previous government there were substantial cuts to the highway budget especially early in that seven year period, although there was some growth towards the end,” she said.

Lorenc, who said he was “elated” that Kinew was delivering on the commitment he made during last fall’s election campaign, is hopeful this government will make infrastructure decisions based on economic development potential and not for political decisions.

In reference to the premier’s oft-repeated phrase that it’s the economic horse that pulls the social cart, he said you can’t deal with any of the social issues “if you don’t have an economy that’s churning and generating new investment.”

Anderson, chief of Norway House, said he’s happy to have the chance to talk directly with the provincial government. He said there’s road work that gets done near Norway House but they never really know what’s going to happen.

“Getting a chance to sit with the provincial government is always a good thing, he said. “We don’t have that relationship in a general sense.”

The work of similar panels never seems to be that obvious to the general public but Lorenc said infrastructure is a priority for this government, so this time it might be different.

“It’s always difficult for a government to seek advice then ignore it,” he said. “Particularly when it is a profile initiative and I would argue that this is a profile initiative.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca