"We want to make sure that we don't leave Manitoba vulnerable to another catastrophic event."

Ron Schuler"We want to again affirm that this is a big priority of our government and premier," says Schuler. "The Premier made this commitment during the last election, and stands by it. We have a whole bunch of steps taking place. The design state has been announced. The two companies have been given the contracts. They're two companies and their partners."

He notes Lake Manitoba is 100 feet higher than Lake Winnipeg, and stresses this means the design has to be correct.

Schuler says they're proceeding on other levels as well, but do have concerns about where the federal government is on the seriousness of the project. Schuler says they're trying to convince the federals this this is an emergency project.

He notes the province cannot be left vulnerable to another catastrophic event as in 2011 and 2014, and pay out another $-billion plus.

"And we believe it should proceed as quickly as possible," continues Schuler. "We're trying to work with our federal partners on this. We're encouraging them to treat this as a serious project as any other project of its magnitude. We believe it's an emergency project, in that we're always imminently standing in front of another major flood."

Schuler notes the project was planned over 60 years ago and was deemed important then, so it needs to be considered just as important today.

He adds he wishes everyone a merry Christmas, and wants you to know that your government is committed to this project and they will proceed as quickly as they can working with their federal partner.