The Manitoba Minster of Growth, Enterprise, and Trade spoke to a room full of local business leaders at an Economic Development Breakfast on Thursday.

Blaine Pederson spoke about the measures they are taking as a provincial government to make Manitoba a more competitive option for national and international businesses, to create high-tech jobs and provide adequate training in the fields such as artificial intelligence, and to remove red tape to allow local business to operate more efficiently 

Steinbach Chamber of Commerce President Tim Schmitt says they hosted the Economic Development Breakfast for two main reasons.

"Economic development is an ongoing discussion and it is an important piece of what is happening right now in Steinbach and certainly for the future, so bringing the Minster here is for local businesses, to help them understand the importance of this issue and to connect with the minister responsible for that. The other reason is to make the minister aware of what is important in our region."

Schmitt says the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure the Steinbach and Southeast region are not forgotten. He adds economic development can also be a confusing term for some businessmen so it was beneficial for the Minister to explain how his role helps local business growth.

"There are a lot of political government terms and economic development maybe is not something that is super clear to everybody so the idea was to bring in the minister who is the authority on it, to help bring some of that information together so that all of the business people who came here today have a clearer understanding of what economic development can mean for them."

Justin Schinkel of Schinkel Properties says they were pleased to hear Minister Pederson talk about removing red tape and regulations to allow local businesses to be more efficient and competitive. He notes several industrial businesses that have approached them have rejected Manitoba and the Southeast due to unnecessary roadblocks.

Schmitt says it was exciting to see around 70 business leaders in attendance and notes there was great participation from everyone involved.