Late last month, Manitoba Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo released a report aimed at ensuring the provincial government exercises greater oversight over spending by municipal governments across the province.

Following a yearlong investigation of allegations of financial mismanagement by several local governments, the AG discovered that the province does not currently have a comprehensive process to follow up on complaints regarding municipal governments, review financial submissions made by them, or even monitor the spending of provincial grants they receive.

Shtykalo emphasized that the province provides millions of dollars in funding to municipalities annually and that, “With this funding comes a responsibility — both for municipalities and the Department of Municipal and Northern Relations — to ensure effective stewardship of public resources.”

To many Manitobans, that is likely regarded as nothing more than stating the obvious. All recipients of public funds must handle those monies with care and be both transparent and accountable for how the dollars are spent. And yet, the auditor general found that adequate controls are not currently in place to ensure that is happening.

Missed payments by Manitoba small businesses rose nearly 13 per cent earlier this year, new Equifax Canada data show.

The credit bureau counted 2,005 Manitoba businesses that didn’t meet at least one payment deadline between April and June, when looking at financial trade delinquencies. Construction, mining, transportation and wholesale trades were among the categories to see increased delinquency rates.

“Provinces that have been stable in the past are really showing areas where they’re starting to pull apart,” said Jeff Brown, Equifax Canada’s head of commercial solutions.

Manitoba’s financial trades delinquency rate year-over-year change outpaced the national average of 8.67 per cent.

In recent days I have been listening again to the voices of adults who shared what they went through in the foster care system, residential schools and the forced adoption practices of the ’60s Scoop.

Living through the second Trump administration as a Canadian has been likened, by one commentator, to a teenager being kicked out of the house. We must grow up fast and deal with the fact that we can now only rely on ourselves. So, the federal government is moving fast on files related to security, sovereignty and connectivity. The Liberals passed Bill C-5 to expedite projects that will help Canadians live on our own. Wonderful.

But.

In our rush forward, we cannot overlook the power of nation-building research, which must go hand-in-glove with these infrastructure projects. Research and infrastructure are not competing priorities: they are essential partners in nation-building.

Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, grants the federal government sweeping powers to quickly build large projects that help goods move faster and more easily. This act intends to strengthen our security, autonomy, resilience and advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples. But there can be no nation-building without nation-building research.