Inspection decision on backburner?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/09/2010 (5497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FOR the seventh time in less than two years, Mayor Sam Katz’s inner circle is poised to put off a decision that could resolve a city-provincial health-inspection dispute that’s been simmering since the creation of Unicity back in 1972.

Nearly four decades ago, when the City of Winnipeg absorbed 11 neighbouring municipalities, different parts of the city wound up with a health-inspection headache that saw city employees inspect downtown and the northwest quadrant of the city, while provincial employees inspected most of the former suburbs.

The split jurisdiction created bureaucratic inefficiencies and health-inspection inconsistencies that have confounded restaurant owners, daycare centres and pool operators for decades — and theoretically have placed the public at risk.

For example, a burger stand in downtown Winnipeg is almost five times more likely to be inspected than an identical establishment across the Red River in St. Boniface. This is because the city employs more inspectors than the province does, even though the city is responsible for a much smaller area.

According to the most recent available figures, the city employed 27 inspectors to cover approximately 35 per cent of Winnipeg, while the province hired 11 to cover the remaining 65 per cent.

In 2005, Katz pledged to clear up this jurisdictional mess as part of the final report of the Red Tape Commission, which was widely considered the highlight of his two-year first term in office.

City council finally voted to resolve the dispute in July 2007, either by getting the city to assume control of the entire inspection job — with an influx of provincial funds — or handing the whole task over to the province, with an assurance inspection levels will remain at the city standard.

Over the next six months, nothing happened. The unresolved issue came back to city council’s executive policy committee, which voted to put off making a decision — not once, but six times, for a total delay of 875 days, so far.

On Wednesday, EPC is poised to vote for yet another layover while health officials with Winnipeg’s community services department continue to negotiate with their counterparts at Manitoba Health.

Both sides are refusing to discuss why the dispute continues to drag on.

“Discussions are ongoing with the province and a report will be coming in the near future,” city spokeswoman Michelle Bailey said Monday in a statement.

“We are unable to share details in the media that may compromise the discussions,” added a spokesman for Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald.

In 2007, it cost the city $2.9 million to conduct health inspections within its own jurisdiction. Taking on the rest of the job would have cost the city another $5.4 million, according to a community-services report at the time.

Giving up the job to the province could place the city on the hook for almost $2 million worth of unionized salaries, in 2007 dollars, the report also warned.

A decision has to be made eventually, said Point Douglas Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, who chairs council’s protection and community services committee.

“It’s probably high time we move on with this,” he said. “One standard for the inner city and older neighbourhoods and another standard for the suburbs doesn’t make sense.”

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca