The Portage la Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce is hoping to make its mark on Manitoba. During the weekend's Manitoba Chambers of Commerce annual general meeting they put forth three resolutions, on issues ranging from taxation to municipal spending. Portage Chamber President Dave Omichinski notes one of the resolutions calls on the province to rebate provincial sales taxes paid by municipalities, and it was supported unanimously with minimal discussion.

"The resolution was that the provincial government rebate the more than $25 million in PST paid on an annual basis by municipalities. This was an issue advanced by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. In fact, I think it was Reeve (Kam) Blight who was the key speaker to that at the convention. We're adding our voice to that. The rationale behind it is that one level of government shouldn't be taxing another."

Another resolution passed also focused on calls by local government officials. Omichinski says they're calling on the province to cease the practice of charging education taxes on farmland. While there's been a call to remove the cap on farm tax rebates, Omichinski says the chamber feels that's only a temporary solution, and a more viable education funding model is needed.

"It's no longer sustainable in terms of the current methodology of putting it on the property tax bill. There's a lot of rationale why that doesn't make sense. It's my understanding that we're the only province in Canada where school divisions still have taxing authority. There are other models out there."

The third resolution is currently under review by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce board, as they work to refine the wording. That resolution mirrors the message put out by AMM during the 2016 Provincial election campaign, as municipalities seek a more sustainable infrastructure funding model.

"The actual resolution is that the provincial government identify new additional sources of revenue for municipalities to address Manitoba's growing $11 billion infrastructure deficit, as well as the increasing municipal responsibilities--in other words the downloading or offloading from the feds to the province, and from the province to the municipalities."

Omichinski notes all three resolutions mirror resolutions passed by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, but says by adding the Chambers voice they hope to see better results. He also notes with the issues all related to taxation, it's something all Manitobans should care about.