The turbulent and controversial rollout of the Winnipeg Metro Region’s (WMR) Plan20-50 continued apace on Tuesday, August 20, with several key story developments.
Prominently, Premier Wab Kinew made public his intention to allow WMR member municipalities the ability to opt out of the capital planning region as early as the upcoming fall. Among the WMR’s 18 municipalities, those deciding to opt out will, by extension, no longer be subject to the conditions set out in Plan20-50.
In recent months, at least five WMR municipalities have formally expressed concerns over the wording of Plan20-50 or the potential of lost autonomy if it is enacted in its current form.
Elected officials in Niverville and Selkirk have added concerns over their forced inclusion in the WMR in the first place. In 2021, provincial amendments to the Planning Act made it mandatory for 17 municipalities surrounding Winnipeg to join.
Ritchot Mayor Remarks
Earlier on Tuesday, Ritchot mayor Chris Ewen released a statement publicly criticizing the WMR. The statement, he said, was being made on his own behalf and not that of Ritchot’s council.
According to Ewen, his statement had already been shared with the premier’s office and other provincial representatives, as well as members of the Winnipeg Metro Region (WMR) and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM).
“I am writing today to express my concerns about what we are seeing between our communities, municipalities, and our province,” Ewen writes. “As a previous board member at the WMR, I was proud to promote regional collaboration and exciting initiatives that would benefit not just the municipalities around the WMR, but essentially the whole province through shared economic goals, sustainable planning, and stronger funding positions.”
In recent times, he says, a lack of communication from the province over Plan20-50 and certain directives from the WMR have raised concerns.
“This letter is not to express my position either for or against the plan itself, but to indicate my concern about the misinformation and the lack of clarification allowed from the WMR board members.”
Ewen refers to a letter received from the WMR requesting that, during the public hearing process for Plan20-50, board members not communicate about it with their constituents.
To Ewen, though, recent outcry suggests this is the most critical time for councils to be fielding questions from the public, especially when it concerns a document that has the power to affect more than a million people living in the region.
“I watched a handful of municipalities send statements to the public without working collaboratively with the rest of the WMR municipalities, creating an even stronger divide between Manitobans,” says Ewen. “We now receive daily calls and emails from residents asking us to take the same stand. As mayor, I believe this was the wrong approach and now more backlash is happening to those that are respecting collaboration.”
In the end, Ewen says, he’s simply asking that Plan20-50 undergo a thorough review by the province in order to help put an end to the undue stress being inflicted on municipal leaders, not to mention the “separation of neighbouring municipalities, threats, and forced position making.”
Opponents Fill Niverville Council Chambers
Also on Tuesday, a collective of Plan20-50 opponents filed into Niverville’s council chambers at the opening of their regularly scheduled council meeting. This came days after the town released its own statement regarding their opposition to the plan as it stands.
Mayor Myron Dyck opened the meeting with a reminder to attendees that Plan20-50 and the WMR were not on the agenda and would not be addressed that night.
“If you have questions or concerns, in order to get consistent messaging instead of 18 mayors trying to speak to 18 different municipalities, please contact the WMR office or Minister Ian Bushie, Minister of Municipal Affairs.”
Dyck indicated that the WMR’s executive director and board chairperson were working to get a meeting with Bushie to find out what the next steps should be.
“Until such a time as that, we are all waiting,” he added. “Whether they’re going to go forward with it, amend it, abandon it, we don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Several in the crowd expressed their discontent with Dyck’s unwillingness to let them speak to the issue. This disruption caused Dyck to issue a warning, suggesting that the RCMP would be called and they would be asked to leave if they chose not to comply.
“This is an interruption of a council meeting for which people have registered to be on the agenda and you’re doing them a disservice,” Dyck stated.
One attendee stood and handed an envelope to the mayor, indicating that its contents contained a notice of liability. This person and the majority of attendees then left the meeting venue.
The balance of the meeting continued uninterrupted. At the close, RCMP officers arrived in time to escort council and the balance of the attendees past the waiting Plan20-50 opponents outside the building.
