The Manitoba government recognized two decades of leadership and the power of local decision-making as Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton congratulated the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) on their 20th anniversary today at their annual convention.

“For the past 20 years, the AMM has successfully brought municipal and provincial governments under one roof to strategize on ways we can better serve Manitobans,” said Wharton. “Our efforts this week at the annual convention help strengthen our communities and take us closer to becoming Canada’s most improved province.”

The province has worked with AMM to accomplish a number of initiatives, including:

  • reducing red tape,
  • streamlining municipal board processes to help eliminate the backlog of cases,
  • introducing a number of changes to The Planning Act to reduce administrative burdens on municipalities, and
  • involving AMM in the assessment of community development projects.

The minister noted AMM has also been instrumental in the decision making process on federal infrastructure programs through the Manitoba Local Consultative Committee and provincial water and wastewater investments through the Manitoba Water Services Board.

Notably, The Municipal Amendment Act (strengthening codes of conduct for council members), which would make a number of changes to strengthen the legislation around council codes of conduct, was the result of consultations with the AMM as well as other stakeholders.

“I’m proud to say our government has worked very closely with the AMM,” said Wharton. “I want to thank outgoing president Chris Goertzen for his dedication and service over the past three years. He assumed his role during a difficult period for Manitoba municipalities under the previous administration. A key priority for our government is to repair the relationship with municipalities, and under President Goertzen’s leadership we have strengthened our partnership with municipalities across Manitoba.”

The minister congratulated the 2016-2018 AMM executive and board of directors and committed to working with the new officials who will be elected at this year’s convention.

AMM represents all of Manitoba’s incorporated municipalities, including the City of Winnipeg. It was formed in 1999 after the Union of Manitoba Municipalities and the Manitoba Association of Urban Municipalities merged.