The Mayor of Steinbach, in his role President of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, is very pleased that the provincial government has chosen to set up a singular department of Municipal Relations. Chris Goertzen is reacting to the cabinet shuffle last Thursday. Premier Brian Pallister announced he has created two new departments from a previously combined department. One of the new entities is Municipal Relations with Gimli MLA Jeff Wharton appointed as Minister. Goertzen says the change is most welcome.

AMM President and Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen"Certainly for us, as municipalities, it's really important and significant to see that this government sees that municipalities need their own Minister. We were very pleased to deal with Minister Clarke over the last year-and-a-half and we made some great progress on having a fair say when it comes to how dollars are spent on infrastructure. Now, moving forward, we have Minister Wharton, who has a municipal background. We really look forward to sitting down with him and concentrating solely on municipal issues. We think it's a good move and we look forward to working with this new Minister."

Goertzen notes there are 137 municipalities in Manitoba and they control a lot of what happens when it comes to things like economic development, land use and transportation. He says the announcement last week recognizes that significance.

"To have it (the Municipal Relations Department) stand on its own is good news for us as municipalities."