The Executive Committee of the MHCA on Wednesday asked that a letter of congratulations be sent to the Progressive Conservative government on its re-election September 10, and set out the priority files for the industry that will be pursued in the coming weeks with the province.
Topping the list is the Quarry Rehabilitation Program, which has been effectively suspended since 2018, when a review was launched by the Mines Branch of Growth, Enterprise and Trade.
While payments of work completed by contractors, and inspected and approved by the branch have begun to flow, there are outstanding invoices yet and contractors are at a loss to understand when full payment will be made by the province, the Executive Committee members were told.
Further, the program itself has been put on hold this year, pending the Auditor General’s review of the branch’s findings.
“We are pressing the department to reinstate the program so rehabilitation of spent pits and quarries can proceed,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said. “This program is vitally important to the communities in which aggregates are sourced because it allows for the return of the land to a state more in line with the environment or in a way the community can use.”
The quarry rehab program is one of a number of items the MHCA was directed to follow up on, now that the government is installed in its offices again.
Other items of concerns are:
- Pledges the Conservatives made during the election campaign to incrementally increase the investment in Manitoba highways and to produce multi-year budgets for strategic rollout of core infrastructure priorities
- The Infrastructure minister’s mandate letter focuses on infrastructure investment that spurs private investment and creates jobs.
- MHCA has prepared a paper called the Elements of a Manitoba ‘Highways & Trade Transportation’ Investment Plan: A key enabling pillar in Manitoba’s economic-growth action plan. That document advocates for the formation of an industry-government working group to review and reframe the current model of investment to focus on the greatest economic benefits, and the renewal of Manitoba’s highways and bridges.
The executive also heard that:
- WCB premiums for the industry-based safety program will be capped at 5 percent, with the remaining revenues for the program to be funded by the WCB. See a fuller article on this topic here.
- The initiative for a Grade 12 heavy construction introduction program for students at Southeast Collegiate is proceeding
- A keynote speaker is being confirmed for the MHCA Awards Breakfast and AGM, which takes place at the RBC Convention Centre November 15.