Manitobans are being given an opportunity to offer their thoughts on this year's provincial budget.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, government officials would make the rounds in Manitoba, gaining insight from what residents would like to see included or omitted in the budget. However, Finance Minister Scott Fielding says in order to protect participants and remain in accordance with current public health orders, they have moved from public engagement sessions to virtual public meetings and telephone town halls. There will also be online opportunities for feedback.

The first of the telephone town hall meetings takes place Tuesday evening. This one is for rural Manitobans. Telephone town halls will be held on the following dates:

  • Tuesday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m. for rural Manitobans;
  • Wednesday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. for Winnipeg residents; and
  • Monday, January 24 at 6 p.m. for Winnipeg residents.

Virtual public meetings will be held:

  • Monday, January 17 at 6:30 p.m. for rural Manitobans;
  • Thursday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. for Winnipeg residents (English-French bilingual); and
  • Wednesday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m. for northern Manitobans.

Manitobans are asked to register for the virtual public meetings in advance, or sign up at https://engagemb.ca/budget-2022 to receive a phone call to participate in a telephone town hall.

The online survey is available at https://engagemb.ca/budget-2022/survey_tools/main-budget-survey until January 31st. Manitobans can also email comments and ideas to budget2022@gov.mb.ca or mail written submissions to:

Minister of Finance c/o budget engagement
103 - 450 Broadway
Winnipeg, MB R3C 0V8

"Budget 2022 will focus on strengthening vital services, such as ensuring quality health care, education and investing in infrastructure," says Fielding. "We will help grow the economy as we continue to move forward from the impacts of the pandemic,” says Fielding.