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Councillors propose competing rapid-transit motions

A Winnipeg Transit vehicle.

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A Winnipeg Transit vehicle.

WINNIPEG - Competing motions about rapid-transit funding have emerged at city council's capital budget debate.

Council is in the midst of a special meeting to approve Winnipeg's $431 million spending blueprint for infrastructure upgrades and equipment purchases next year as well as a capital-budget forecast for spending through 2015.

As expected, Couns. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge) and John Orlikow (River Heights) have moved to add $63 million into the budget forecast in 2012-2014 to cover the city's portion of the $189 million cost of Phase Two of the southwest rapid-transit corridor.

Couns. Justin Swandel (St. Norbert) and Gord Steeves (St. Vital), meanwhile, are moving to add $250 million into the budget forecast for rapid transit routes across the city - but only if the provincial government drops its requirement for the city to make an extra nitrogen-removal step as part of Winnipeg's ongoing $1.8 billion waste-water upgrade.

The city and province are embroiled in a dispute over the environmental benefits of removing dissolved nitrogen from city waste water.

Most freshwater scientists believe this step will do more harm to the Lake Winnipeg ecosystem than good, due to the ability of blue-green algae to obtain nitrogen directly from the air.
 

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