Last Friday a meeting of the Lake Manitoba Rehabilitation Committee took place at the Narrows concerning Lake Manitoba.

"We had two specific agenda items, and the first one was that we intended to, first of all, identify if at this point of time the Rehabilitation Committee still had value for the RMs, and for that committee," explains chair Tom Teichroeb. "It was realized and agreed upon that it did have value."

He notes the second item was to listen to the RM of Grahamdale and some of the ongoing challenges they're facing.

Teichroeb adds the committee and the RM of Grahamdale are extremely pleased they're going to have a channel, and they've campaigned for it and created the committee for just that cause.

He says all who attended saw value in t he committee, even though there's no real significant cost to it, outside of the members' time and travel to each RM and RM member. Teichroeb notes the real value was in how it pertains to lake levels and the greater watershed they're so concerned about. He says when governments change and new people come in, there's a need to remind those folks of what your challenges are. He adds, even though they know the current government in the province made a commitment to water management, that long-term look down the road means other people may assume office who aren't as aware. Teichroeb says their focus was to look at the issue as something they'll need to pursue for more than just the current moment.

Concerns Grahamdale raised included fair compensations and fair treatment. He explains Grahamdale noted that presence of a channel means loss of land. That land-base provides tax dollars. He notes Grahamdale wanted everyone to recognize that a channel will mean lost revenue in perpetuity. So, it's not just where the channel lies, but other lands used for other purposes, such as a First Nations community in Grahamdale that had to find new land for. But at the same time, Teichroeb adds, the message they're hoping they'd understand is that the channel is for the greater Manitoba. Grahamdale sincerely hoped the committee would not only endorse for that to be looked at and re-evaluated, but also how they can make that situation better and lobby for fair revenue in that regard.

All in all, Teichroeb says the mood was positive. There hadn't been a meeting in a number of years, and it was necessary for everyone to know they'd made progress, that the province has documents in place now for the RM and has held meetings and will continue to do so and negotiate more.

Teichroeb adds nine out of ten RMs were present, with Portage being the only absent one. He notes they'd still like to see Portage attend in the future, and if not in person at least with an endorsement saying they're part of the large initiative.

"But having the other people there and just recognizing there is still value there is a lot of satisfaction in that," adds Teichroeb.