Business View Civil and Municipal | May 2021

145 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL MAY 2021 PORTAGE LA PRA I R I E , MANI TOBA Location isn’t the only thing the region has going for it. Both the City and the RM credit their blooming success to the strong partnership they have formed between the two municipalities. Over 20 years ago, the City of Portage la Prairie and the RM of Portage la Prairie signed a tax- sharing agreement that would encourage them to work together to attract industry to the entire region. They are now reaping the rewards of that initiative. “I think a big piece of our strategic plan is really recognizing how we got to where we are today with both the City and the RM,” says Ferris. “We tend to view things on a regional basis and the reason we are seeing a lot of growth and success is really because of partnership – and this is important.” City of Portage la Prairie Mayor, Irvine Ferris reports, “The City has an industrial park in the north end called the McMillan Industrial Park and the RM has an industrial park called Poplar Bluff Industrial Park, and even if the industry was not appropriately zoned for either industrial parks, we would work with the client to have the land rezoned or if that wasn’t possible, we would seek other locations that would be suitable. When the two municipalities began acting as a unified region, things began to turn around. And it’s that strong partnership that attracted the attention of French plant protein manufacturer, Roquette. “Roquette needed a huge footprint and we could not accommodate that size within the City, however the RM could fit that in,” Ferris explains. “Now, the city supplies the wastewater services for it and we all work together, along with the province. So it really gave us an edge over other jurisdictions when we were competing for Roquette because we were able Mayor, Irvine Ferris