RM of Portage wants to see more red tape reduction with province

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie is sending a recommendation to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in hopes of seeing the province reduce even more red tape.

Council made the resolution at their RM meeting on Wednesday. CAO Nettie Neudorf says they want the AMM to lobby the province to change their regulatory processes so the RM can move at a quicker pace.

"Examples include drainage permits, drainage licences, easements, even for mining gravel," says Neudorf. "We need those permits before we can do the work. We've seen a number of delays, some of them even beyond six months. So, the season of the work is lost, and we have to wait until the next year."

Neudorf says this has impacted their economic development, where industries are waiting for approval before they can move forward.

"By having the province look at that, they already have the red tape reduction legislation in place, and so, we'd like to provide a list of what those areas are," says Neudorf. "We're experiencing those delays on a collaborative basis all across Manitoba -- 137 municipalities -- where we are really held in the waiting line by the province."

The AMM has asked municipalities to make requests for change in the Provincial Government's processes or legislation. The deadline to have those requests to the AMM is June 1st.