Hundreds of attendees to a Winnipeg Metro Region (WMR) public hearing were sent home on August 8 after it was announced that the meeting would be postponed. The rented hall’s lack capacity to safely house all who attended was cited as the reason.
The focus of the public hearing was Plan20-50, a 127-page document developed by the WMR to operate as a guide to regional planning for the 18 municipalities in the Winnipeg area.
The August 8 meeting, held at the Niverville Heritage Centre, was to be the second of two public hearings planned by the WMR for this purpose.
Following the public hearings, Plan20-50 will be submitted to the province for approval and then pass through one final WMR vote.
If approved, the plan is expected to go into effect in January 2025.
Upon review, Plan20-50 reads as a relatively innocuous document that delineates the Manitoba capital region’s 30-year plan when it comes to coordinating land use, services, and infrastructure.
According to the WMR, it “sets the blueprint for a resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive region. Plan20-50 considers community growth and development, infrastructure investment and servicing, regional economic development, watershed and natural asset stewardship, climate resilience, agriculture and resources, and collaboration with Indigenous Nations.”
To the many hundreds pressing to get into Thursday’s meeting room, though, the plan is anything but innocuous. Many believe that it represents a threat to the freedom of movement we currently enjoy.
For this reason, passions ran high for the hundreds being turned away after the meeting room, which holds approximately 300, was filled to capacity.
RCMP were on site to hold crowds back from pushing their way inside. Security guards were scattered throughout for crowd control. Angry slurs were yelled by some guests, echoing a sense of general displeasure from the crowd waiting outside.
A group chanted, “Let us in. Let us in.” This was followed by another group inside the meeting room chanting, “Let them in. Let them in.”
Minutes before the meeting start time at 3:00 p.m., a WMR representative made an announcement from the podium. In an effort to provide fair representation from everyone who wanted to speak, and to provide opportunity for all to attend, the meeting had to be postponed until a later date.
The new meeting date and location, which have yet to be announced, will be no less than 40 days in the future in order to provide ample opportunity to advertise it to the public.
Board members of the WMR dispersed quickly after the announcement and The Citizen was unable to get an interview with them.
Stay tuned to The Citizen for much more expansive coverage in the days ahead, including all perspectives, on this important local issue.
