Ron Kostyshyn, Dauphin MLA, has been working quitely behind the scenes when it comes to making sure Dauphin and the area is looked after. Recent flooding damages in the Parkland, especially in Swan River, was bad. Kostyshyn was floored by the widespread infrastructure damage, and especially damages to crops.
One of the Province's solutions was the Manitoba Flood Recovery Program, designed to help communities in the hardest-hit areas. However, some of those hard-hit communities don't make the list. Notable exclusions are both the City and RM of Dauphin, Gilbert Plains Municipality, Grandview Municipality, Mossey River Municipality, and the Municipality of Ste. Rose.
"The Swan River and Minitonas area, and that geographic area, was the first geographic area to be quite evident of overland flooding and the devastation that happened...I continue to lobby on behalf of the geographic area, of the devastation that took place, and we will continue to lobby...I'm confident that the cabinet will have an announcement soon," said Kostyshyn.
Kostyshyn assured 730 CKDM NewsNow that he is working to get hard-hit communities in the area he represents included, and expects answer from Legislature soon.
"The discussion is ongoing, and I would just ask the residents in the secondary flood area to be patient into the near future...the book is not closed on that subject. We will continue, I will continue to lobby the appropriate departments to move forward with a similar situation," said Kostyshyn.
According to Manitoba Agriculture, the hardest-hit communities in the Parkland were San Clara, Minitonas, and Ste. Rose. San Clara received an estimated 380-460mm of rainfall between May 1st and July 19th, and both Minitonas and Ste. Rose received approximately 300-380mm in the same period.
Another concern that Kostyshyn has is the Dauphin Regional Health Centre's closure. He said the community is used to having it as a service, and said PMH has been doing a lot of work.
"Dauphin's hospital is a centralized medical service, and once you lose that, it has a number of negative spinoffs...I think sometimes the misconception is, nothing is being done. Whether it's being spread by other individuals saying that nothing is being done, that is not true, they are doing as much as they can do," said Kostyshyn.
Kostyshyn said he will be seeking to make partnerships with various groups to try and expedite the Dauphin Regional Health Centre's progress, and to get parts of his riding included in the Manitoba Flood Recovery Program.
"We are doing as much as we can, as fast as we can, and we're going to partner with whoever we have to, to get that hospital back into operation," said Kostyshyn.
In his life of living in the Parkland, Kostyshyn said he's never seen flooding this bad, and the effects of both the flooding damage and the DRHC's closure will be felt for a while.
