Tories deny that funding to cities, towns has strings attached

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/08/2017 (2978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Confusion, denials and finger-pointing dominated provincial-municipal relations Thursday following the disclosure this week that the Pallister government wants to change the way it funds municipalities.

The spokesman for Manitoba’s municipalities said Thursday local leaders don’t need more rules, and they expect the Pallister government to keep its promise to simplify the funding process.

The new minister responsible for municipal relations said the confusion is a mistake and there are no new rules but was unable to explain why municipalities were told three months ago new rules were on the way.

The opposition NDP said the confusion points to the government backtracking on election promises.

“The reality of the situation is (the Pallister government has) committed to having less strings for funding, but they’ve also said they do want accountability,” said Chris Goertzen, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and mayor of Steinbach. “We have no trouble with being accountable, but the reality is it’s going to have to be simple, and we’re going to hold them to developing this process together with municipalities, not just on their own.”

Goertzen was responding to the report in Thursday’s Free Press that revealed the province sent letters to municipalities in May saying it expects to attach “expected outcomes” to a new funding model that the government had said would be unconditional.

A Freedom of Access and Protection to Privacy Act (FIPPA) request made by the provincial NDP and provided to the Free Press revealed that letters penned by Grant Doak, the then-deputy minister of the department of Indigenous and Municipal Relations were sent to all Manitoba municipalities. That includes Doug McNeil, the CAO of the City of Winnipeg, Joe Masi, the executive director of the Association of Manitoba, and to the City of Brandon.

The letters confirm the province will give the municipalities the same amount of operating and capital funding in 2017 that had been provided in 2016 and that the operating grants would be unconditional.

Confusion arose because of the additional information provided by Doak. In the letter to Winnipeg’s McNeil, Doak writes the province will attach “outcomes” and “expectations” for its funding, singling out the Winnipeg Police Services. In letters to Brandon, the AMM and the other CAOs, they are also told “outcomes” will be attached to their funding.

In an unusual move, the municipalities are also told that how major infrastructure projects would be funded and prioritized would be changed. It’s been customary for municipalities to develop their own priority lists for infrastructure projects and then pitch that list to the provincial government for funding. But the letters stated the province would work with the municipalities to develop one- and five-year capital budgets to ensure their priorities are aligned.

But Jeff Wharton, who was appointed only last week as the new minister of municipal relations, told reporters nothing has changed.

“We’re not putting conditions on the funding,” Wharton said. But he was unable to explain what Doak’s letter meant by “expected outcomes.”

Wharton said the Free Press misinterpreted the May 10 letter. He said the story “was not actually factual,” but he couldn’t explain how it was wrong.

NDP finance critic James Allum said it is apparent the Progressive Conservatives are backing away from their ‘fair share, fair say’ promise to municipalities during the 2016 election campaign.

He called the letter a “very clear, concrete admission that there were conditions associated with the (provincial) funding.”

“They walked back from the fair share commitment, and now they’re walking back from the fair say commitment — and the letter is proof positive of that. And if the new minister can’t explain it, then the premier needs to get out in front of the cameras and explain to municipalities and to the people of Manitoba exactly what this means,” Allum said.

While the letters from Doak were sent May 10, another FIPPA request revealed that Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman met with Premier Brian Pallister on May 18 to discuss unspecified “inter-government” issues. Provincial officials were to meet with the AMM on May 16.

Unlike Goertzen, Bowman chose not to speak to the issue Thursday. His press secretary downplayed the significance of the letter but council’s finance chairman Coun. Scott Gillingham said it’s important to the city’s budgeting process to define what the province wants and that has yet to be determined.

Goertzen said the province has promised municipalities it won’t unilaterally impose outcomes on funding but will work with municipalities to define those areas.

“Obviously, this will be a new mechanism that the provincial government will be using, and they’ve made a commitment to us that they’ll work together with the municipalities to create this new accountability mechanism. We’ll hold them to account to developing this in conjunction with us,” Goertzen said.

“What’s important is we have simplicity with accountability and it’s not onerous on municipalities. Obviously, we’re going to be looking for something really simple from the provincial government, with less strings attached but we’re not afraid of being accountable.”

Following Wharton’s question-and-answer session with reporters at the legislature Thursday, Chisholm Pothier, the premier’s director of communications, stepped in front of cameras and said, “Short answer is the (Free Press) story is out to f—ing lunch.”

He said municipalities understand that there are no strings attached to their funding.

“There’s no defined outcomes that have to be achieved,” Pothier said. “There’s conversations on… what can make this city and this province better.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca