Prairies new granting agency shut out by Ottawa

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This article was published 30/11/2021 (1122 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government has snubbed the Prairies in its latest round of COVID-19 spending, allocating cash to all seven granting agencies except the one representing the region where the Liberals struggle to gain support.

“If the Liberals want to show that they understand what we’re going through out west, they need to do better,” Daniel Blaikie, NDP MP for Elmwood—Transcona, told the Free Press.

The Winnipeg MP was puzzled when he started poring over the latest round of recurring spending reports, known as supplementary estimates, after they were tabled Nov. 26.

The 133 pages detail spending meant to be approved by Parliament in December, to follow through with promises the government made in its budget and regulations.

It’s the first detailed fiscal account since the Liberals split Western Economic Diversification, a regional granting agency formed in 1988, into separate B.C. and Prairies branches in August.

The documents show no specific allocation for the upstart agency covering Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, dubbed PrairiesCan. Yet, B.C. can expect $263 million to be delivered to its Pacific Economic Development Agency.

In fact, various pots of funding to help the hardest-hit sectors endure the current wave of COVID-19 list all seven economic development agencies except for PrairiesCan.

For example, a $10.5-million aerospace fund will go to Ontario and B.C. companies to help strengthen supply chains, but nothing for parts manufacturers based in Winnipeg.

The Atlantic provinces, Ontario and B.C. can expect $35.6 million for small- and medium-sized businesses, but nothing’s in the cards for the Prairies, Quebec or the territories.

A $30-million fund for hard-hit tourism sectors will be split between the territories, Ontario and B.C., but nothing’s been allocated for the Prairies — which Blaikie argued should be supporting Folkfest, Folkarama and Festival du Voyageur.

The Canada Community Revitalization Fund will deliver $100 million for libraries and recreation centres in Quebec, Ontario and B.C., but none in the Prairies.

St. Boniface—St. Vital Liberal MP Dan Vandal, the only Manitoban in cabinet, was not available for an interview Wednesday, nor was Treasury Board president Mona Fortier.

Instead, Vandal’s office wrote funding promised in April will be tabled in the next round of estimates, in February 2022.

“Pandemic recovery programs announced in Budget 2021 provide over $360 million for PrairiesCan. These funds will flow over the life of the programs to support businesses and communities across the Prairies,” reads a statement attributed to Vandal.

“PrairiesCan is positioned to meet the current needs of businesses and communities for these programs.”

The filings don’t totally ignore Manitoba: the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will receive a $3.9-million top-up to account for a drop in visitors, and allocations for Indigenous programming will almost certainly have an outsized impact on the province.

When the Liberals split the western granting agency, they announced both the Prairies and B.C. agencies would get more bureaucrats and program funding that what each had beforehand.

Vandal noted $461 million of funds for pandemic-struck companies who didn’t qualify for other programs had reached 6,800 businesses in the Prairies, accounting for a higher demand in Western Canada in the application round that closed June 31.

Still, Blaikie said Ottawa needs to a better job representing the entire country, in spite of having just six Liberal seats in Prairies.

In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed just two cabinet ministers from the region, both in junior roles, and ended Winnipeg South Centre MP Jim Carr’s position of special advisor for the Prairies.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca