Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
MANITOBA MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATORS LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
Victoria Inn, Brandon
Friday, April 26, 2024, 9:00 a.m.
(please check against delivery)
Members of the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association – it’s a pleasure to join you this morning to celebrate the work you do to keep Manitoba communities healthy and thriving.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathering today on Treaty Two land and that Manitoba is the present day and ancestral home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Red River Metis peoples.
In all regions of our province, we are working to build a fair and inclusive society that provides opportunities for healing and happiness for all.
When we talk of the levels of government in Canada, we tend to think of them in tiers – with the federal government being at the highest level and municipal governments being the grass roots tier.
We all know that the federal government has vastly more revenue and expenditures. And the federal government gets more attention in the news than any provincial or municipal government.
But when it comes to considering which level of government has an impact on Canadians every single day, the tiers are reversed.
No level of government affects people more directly and frequently than municipal government.
Municipal governments have always been the ones working tirelessly to ensure that the daily lives of those within their communities have necessary and fundamental services.
- Is your trash picked up when it should be?
- Do you have clean water in your taps and does your toilet flush?
- Are your streets covered in snowdrifts?
- If you have an emergency, can you count on police or fire services?
The management of those services takes a unique and open minded skill set. One needs to manage the expectations of the community, at the same time remaining fiscally responsible, while keeping an eye on future opportunities that can best serve those that live there as a whole.
Municipal administrators and those that work within municipal governments are engrained in the communities they serve. If fact, it is quite likely that the people responsible for the services and facilities citizens depend on are shopping in the same store as you or sitting beside you at the hockey arena.
That direct connection to the people is part of the unique challenge of local government and part of its special reward. That was certainly something I felt every day when I served as a school trustee – they’re the issues I dealt with were ones that touched the lives of people every single school day.
For that reason, I’m pleased to join you today as you explore issues in municipal administration leadership. Your dedication to professional development will benefit residents in communities across Manitoba.
And, as part of my being here, I am especially pleased today to announce the creation of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Leadership in Municipal Administration.
Beginning next year, this award will recognize extraordinary achievements and ethical conduct by hard-working, visionary professionals in municipal administration.
This award will not only recognize and honour much deserving individuals serving in Manitoba municipal governments, but it is my hope that it will also serve as inspiration to other municipal leaders by showcasing excellent, innovative, responsive municipal administration across our province.
I wish you all a productive day today, and I look forward to seeing some of you next year at the inaugural presentation of this new award.
Thank you, Merci. Meegwich. Shalom.
