About Us

President’s Report to the AGM 2012

This past year is spilling over into this year so it is very difficult to have a firm cut off on December 31 and say ‘that was the year’ since our work is now becoming more in-depth, complex and multi-layered and does not just end because the calendar winds down.  You will note this further during the resolution session and the “Strategic Directions” we are proposing to work with this year and into the future that we are tackling substantive work for the coming year.

One of the key issues that have begun to command a lot of our attention is the future of healthcare.   We announced our intention in October to form a task force to look at the health care situation in Manitoba.  Health care is the number one priority of Manitobans, and we are pleased that the government has highlighted this in the Throne Speech and in the budget.  There are positive signals in the promised direction, which we are pleased to see, but there needs to be much more substantive leadership and citizen and business input.  Given that over 43% of the budget is spent on healthcare, we need to be assured that these funds are used in the most efficient and measureable way to provide the best standard of care.  This committee has worked very hard with any number of early morning meetings, lunch hour meetings, community forums and consultations to formulate a strategic direction.  Special thanks to Dale Lacombe of the policy committee and board member who has taken on this challenge and under his leadership we are beginning to see where we will go with this file.

We also firmly believe that economic development of Canada’s North is a key element to Manitoba’s future prosperity. A healthy economy in Northern Manitoba is vital for Canada as well. The North will require significant investment to build infrastructure and a long-term commitment from both the public and private sectors if Canada’s full potential is to be realized. With the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board and the uncertainty that this has caused the Port of Churchill, the policy committee has also chosen this as another important direction to work with.  The task force ably lead by Michael Rodyniuk was formed in the late fall shortly after we invited Minister Gerry Ritz to speak to the business community.  The writing was on the wall and continues to be a vital area for us to work with.

And lastly, we have seen our outreach increase with a promise of more to come due to the marketing and outreach committee headed by Dan Belhassen with a large part of our strategy not only concentrating on more outputs -  but more interaction with all of our members and our future members.  We are reaching out now to at least 3-4 generations of business owners and the challenge to communicate meaningfully to each generation and in a way they can respond easily to, is something we are working on continually.

We look to 2012-2013 with optimism and enthusiasm.  The high quality leadership from our board and the personal commitment people make when they engage with us to find solutions as opposed to casting blame is our part of the answer to move boldly forward.

I leave you with a quote that we have adopted for the year from John Russell, President of Harley Davidson.

“The more you engage with customers the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.”

We appreciate the support, the engagement and the ongoing work together.  We also want to thank Morden and Winkler Chambers of Commerce for their partnership and for the warmth and hospitality we have experienced here in the Pembina Valley.

Respectfully Submitted, Graham Starmer