ADVOCATE

CONNECTING WITH GOVERNMENT, RAISING THE PROFILE AND BUILDING CREDIBILITY AS YOUR INDUSTRY VOICE!

The WRLA continues to raise the profile of the Lumber and Building Material Industry to all levels of government. This year, ten representatives from municipal and provincial governments attended the WRLA Showcase, hosted by Liz and WRLA board members.

Deputy Mayor Markus Chambers and Minister of Natural Resources and Northern Development Greg Nesbitt participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the show and toured the floor with Liz and board chair Andrew Reimer. Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen also spent time on the show floor meeting with members.

Liz also hosted members of the official opposition: Matt Wiebe, Jamie Moses, Diljeet Brar joined, along with their NDP colleague Robert Loiselle. And liberal leader Dougald Lamont and his colleague Dr. John Gerrard also toured the show with Liz Kovach.

While the Premier was unable to attend our show, board members had a chance to meet with Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson beforehand.

Thank you to all the members that allowed us to spend some time at your booths to showcase the innovation, industry magnitude and of course willingness to bring forward issues that are pain points for our members.

Board members also took the opportunity to dive deeper into industry specific issues identified during our 2022 Advocacy Summit which focused on supply chain and explore the opportunity for more at home manufacturing and distribution. CentrePort, located just outside of Winnipeg, was established to be a tri-modal hub for the transportation of goods. The round table participants included the Prospectus Group, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, and Economic Development Winnipeg (EDW).

To get involved in any of these initiatives, email wrla@wrla.org