Premier Greg Selinger left for Washington, D.C., to join U.S. governors to discuss preparations for potential spring flooding and to continue long-term water management planning.
“We have established a solid working relationship with our American neighbours on a number of fronts and I look forward to making further progress for people living on both sides of the border,” Selinger said. “Manitoba is recognized as a leader for our flood-fighting practices and we are pleased to continue sharing our expertise while working to ensure a co-ordinated emergency response in the event of potentially significant flooding this spring.”
This weekend, governors will travel to Washington to attend the National Governors’ Association (NGA) annual winter meeting. It will be the first NGA meeting following the election of 29 new governors last year, one of the largest cohorts of incoming governors ever.
In addition to attending NGA meetings, Selinger will meet with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple to explore new opportunities to co-operate on flood mitigation.
As current chair of the Council of the Federation, Selinger said the meetings will also provide an opportunity to speak with governors about priorities established at the meeting of Canadian premiers hosted in Winnipeg last summer.
The Washington meeting coincides with a meeting of senior flood and emergency response officials from Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba being held in Bismarck, N.D., to discuss best practices.
The province has also announced support for the ongoing work of the Red River Basin Commission with a commitment of $70,000 toward the commission’s long-term flood solutions project. The project involves modelling Red River main stem and tributary flow reductions from upper basin water storage projects in Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba, and will help to determine the potential flood damage reduction benefits of such projects.
