The Rural Municipality of Tache has fallen behind last year’s numbers for building permits. However, Chief Administrative Officer Christine Hutlet says they saw nearly the identical number of new housing starts through the first quarter.

In 2019, through the first three months, there were 26 total permits, for $2.6 million. Of those, seven were single family dwellings. By comparison, this year has seen 15 total permits, worth $2.5 million and six single family dwellings.

According to Hutlet, the additional permits last year would have been for decks, accessory buildings and those types of projects.

With COVID-19 really only hitting Manitoba in mid-March, Hutlet says the drop in permits can not really be attributed to the pandemic. However, she says it appears there has been a slowdown in permits pulled for April.

“I’m sure once we get through this month, we will have a better understanding of what it is that we may be seeing as a reduction in construction in Tache,” says Hutlet.

Of the six new housing starts this year, Hutlet says majority are in the rural area, with the rest coming from Landmark.

“With Landmark’s new development we did see a couple new permits at the beginning of this year,” says Hutlet. “But the majority of those are being developed in rural residential areas.”

Hutlet says she hopes to soon see more growth in Landmark.

“I think a lot of it is going to be dependent on what happens with our economy over the next twelve to eighteen months and how long businesses are going to be closed over the next couple of months,” says Hutlet. “There may be a resurgence of COVID-19 in the fall and how that’s going to impact the economy.”