Ritchot’s council entertained a number of delegations at their June 6 public meeting.
Quarterly Crime Report
Attending virtually were Corporals Kaven Bussieres and Melanie Rouselle of the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP detachment, there to provide the quarterly crime report.
Looking at Grande Pointe, Bussieres indicated a number of suspicious vehicle reports and some break-and-enter activity in the community. This, he said, has a lot to do with Grande Pointe’s proximity to Winnipeg.
Ste. Agathe, too, saw extra criminal activity, primarily focused on one residence on Bellamy Drive. The RCMP, along with the Crime Reduction Team from Winnipeg, carried out a search warrant at the address and charges have been laid.
“We’ve been dealing with that residence quite a bit,” said Bussieres. “That noted residence is bringing some people from the city that are involved with drug trafficking and property crime. We’re still keeping an eye on it, but since we did the search it’s been pretty [quiet] there.”
Rouselle was happy to note that the RCMP have been providing greater patrol presence in St. Adolphe as of late thanks to additional funding received from Manitoba Public Insurance.
“MPI is funding our members to do extra shifts just for traffic enforcement,” said Rouselle. “So they’ve been on the 200 and 210 quite a bit. They’re averaging 20 to 30 stops per day, which is a lot for one member.”
She said that a number of residents have called the RCMP office to complain about traffic violations in the reduced speed zone near the school.
Councillor Joel Lemoine brought to Rouselle’s attention some complaints received by the RM from residents living along Krahn and Sood Roads in terms of speeding. He presumes it may be Niverville commuters looking to avoid traffic along Highway 200.
Bilingual Supports
Justin Johnston of the Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM) also addressed council virtually. He proposed to council, on behalf of the AMBM, that a partnership agreement could be formed to enhance and optimize the current work of the Ritchot Economic Development Officer (EDO.
Johnston noted that, in 2020, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) approved financial support to the AMBM in order to help strengthen bilingual economic immigration to Manitoba municipalities.
With this in mind, the AMBM is hoping to partner with two municipalities in Manitoba, one being Ritchot, to further this cause.
“The objective is to build more attractive and welcoming bilingual communities, especially in a rural setting for new families and economic immigrants.”
To do this, they are asking that the Ritchot EDO work at identifying the employment needs of the municipal business community as well as the challenges new residents might face in relation to affordable housing, mobility, transportation, and connectivity.
In lieu of time spent in these efforts, the AMBM would supplement the EDO’s salary to the tune of almost $40,000.
“We are currently doing a lot of this work already,” said CAO Mitch Duval. “And if the AMBM is willing to step up to the plate with some kind of an agreement for the EDO’s time and efforts, it would be welcomed.”
Council voted unanimously in favour of accepting the proposal.
Multifamily Development
Council members also voted unanimously in favour of accepting first reading of a request by Kingdom Home Building Inc. to rezone a St. Adolphe section of land from Agriculture Limited to Residential General 8.
The empty lot, located on the south end of the community, would border the lot chosen for the upcoming daycare facility.
“If council proceeds with first reading, which we hope you do, [the developers] intend to host an open house in the community for the public to provide any feedback and gather information about what they are proposing,” Duval told council.
There’s a huge demand for multifamily housing, he cited, noting that there’s currently a three percent vacancy rate in most of Ritchot’s communities.
