Green Team cuts create uncertainty

Roblin

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/06/2024 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the best things about representing the Roblin constituency in the Manitoba legislature is hearing from local community groups. Youth sports organizations, summer camps, daycare groups, museums, and churches help our community thrive. Anything I can do for them at the provincial level, I’m more than happy to do.

Unfortunately this month, my colleagues and I heard over and over again from groups across the province that they were not getting their summer Green Team funding. Green Team is a long-standing provincial program that helps non-profits and municipalities hire summer students to do things like outdoor maintenance and summer programming. Many organizations have come to rely on this funding as it was previously predictable and reliable.

It turns out the NDP government cut Green Team funding by over $4 million this year. Dozens of organizations reached out, unsure if they could even run the programming they had planned with their funding significantly reduced or cut entirely.

Groups affected by these funding cuts locally include Oasis Church, Grace Community Church, MacDonald-Headingley Recreation District, On the Move and Carpathia daycares and, in neighbouring Tuxedo, Camp Massad, the Simkin Centre and Mennonite Church Manitoba. Many organizations across the province were also affected.

As a parent, I know many families rely on summer camps and day programming to supplement daycare services. I know high school and university students rely on Green Team jobs to make it through the summer, and I know that kids get excited about their summer sports teams, be they baseball, soccer or volleyball.

With these cuts to Green Team funding, the NDP has shown a lack of care for our communities. They cut funding to the Building Sustainable Communities fund by 50 per cent a grant program designed to help municipalities and non-profits access funding. They completely abandoned the Arts, Culture and Sport in Community fund, a program that helped local rinks, community centres, sports organizations and cultural groups improve the services we all rely on.

It’s a privilege to work on your behalf at the Manitoba Legislature and to advocate for the organizations who do so much good in our communities. I am always happy to connect with constituents about this topic or any other matter. Please reach out to my office at info@kathleen-cook.ca or 204-504-0594.