Manitoba's Finance Minister met with community leaders and organization heads in Morden to hear complaints and requests regarding the 2017 provincial budget.

Cameron Friesen invited the public and representatives from seven local organizations to share their concerns about the upcoming budget for Manitoba. Members of school divisions, charities, and community foundations were present to explain issues they'd had with funding during the previous administration and what they're hoping the Conservative government will do with the people's money.

"There are themes we continue to hear," said Minister Friesen after the meeting.

"We're hearing from a variety of sectors that red tape is a problem in this province. A lot of what we're hearing also goes to letting people know where government is going in terms of multi-year plans and giving confidence to municipalities."

Some of the representatives, and speakers from the public, were eager to see a predictable method of funding This would allow organizations and local governments to know how much money to expect from the Province year-to-year and in the next five years.

"We need some long-term planning and financial commitment from the provincial government," said Morden mayor, Ken Wiebe.

"I think that would go a long way toward helping us alleviate some of the issues we have."

Wiebe emphasized that if groups like school divisions, businesses, and communities knew what they would receive in advance, they could provide services better and make their own budget that much more reliable.