Mayor of Gladstone Eileen Clarke.

A surprising bill has arrived in the mail for the town of Gladstone. Mayor Eileen Clarke says the community is being asked to pay back $30,000 dollars to the province.  The money was part of an initiative started back in 1995 to match funding from communities to help initiate local small business development.

Clarke says they recently received a letter from the province asking for this seed money to be repaid. She stresses they are aware there is a clause that states the government could at any time ask for that money back.

Clarke says what is concerning though is the wording in the letter they received asking for the cash back. It says return the funds if you still have it.  She says that suggests communities where the program was not successful are off the hook and the ones, such as Gladstone, that worked to keep the program alive are, in a sense being penalized.  

Clarke says it has been brought to her attention that other communities across western Manitoba have also received similar payback request. Gladstone has sent a letter to the province asking that they reconsider.



A copy of the formal request to the town of Gladsotne to return $30,000 dollars to the province.