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196 197 PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MANITOBA advantage, right now, when you can go out and talk to a potential developer or investor or major organization and say, ‘We’ve just had a billion dollars of new investment in 13 months. And this is why you should be talking to us.’ Right off the Roquette an- nouncement last year, we had a lot of inqui- ries around housing development and calls from developers both locally and nationally. And then, right off of the Simplot announce- ment, a lot of conversations that we had started with national chains or small entre- preneurs, where their urgency didn’t seem to be a top priority, suddenly Portage la Prairie is a priority for them, and we’re having more detailed conversations about how they can make their investments, sooner.” As Portage prepares for new growth, it is necessarily looking to improve various com- ponents of its infrastructure. “There has been a commitment locally, provincially, and federally to upgrade our water treatment capacity,” says May. In fact, the city has procured $30 million in funding for the secondary treatment of industrial and agricultural wastewater, removing the nitro- gen and phosphorous that causes algae blooms when returned to the area’s watershed. The city is also working with various stake- holders to improve its network of walkable and bikeable transportation assets in order to provide city residents, both old and new, with a higher level of active living. “Every year, we’ve added to our network of paths,” says Portage’s Mayor, Irvine Ferris. “Some years, we add paving or lighting, and some years, it’s just pouring the base of new paths with limestone. The network is not wholly connected, yet, and the plan is that, eventually, we’ll integrate our main street into that network of paths that currently connects the four corners of the city. Already, we’re seeing a great increase in pedestrians, cyclists, roller-bladers of every age group, including seniors and very young people.” Irvine also touts the city’s commitment to sus- tainability and good environmental stewardship.