The Portage la Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce held a meet-and-greet last night with Premier Brian Pallister, MP Candice Bergen, MLA Ian Wishart, various other MLA's, as well as cabinet members at the Portage and District Arts Centre. Pallister shares what it's like to be back home for the visit.

"Oh, it's a lot of emotion," he notes. "It's a real thrill. Of course, it's your hometown. It's the place my great grandparents chose to come and homestead, right? I have a lot of memories going to Prince Charles, going to PCI, and playing the sports that we talked about here; and music lessons, and piano lessons. I could go on. It's great just seeing all the friends that you make over the years."

Pallister notes he just spent three days meeting over 1000 Manitobans, noting he received suggestions they offered for him to take back to the legislature.

He says over 20,000 people just took part in a pre-budget consultation, and he calls it the Portage la Prairie approach he's taken to government; which is teamwork.

"It's the kind of approach that got us the privatized flight contract that has Southport Aerospace here in Portage la Prairie. It's the kind of approach that got us the opportunities that McCain is providing for people with great jobs, and Simplot as well. Those team approaches are what works the best. And that's the kind of approach I'm bringing."

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