No utility privatization without referendum: Winnipeg mayor, speaker
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2009 (5923 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WINNIPEG – Council speaker Harry Lazarenko and Mayor Sam Katz have authored a council motion intended to allay public concern about Winnipeg’s proposed utility.
The Mynarski councillor and the mayor will ask city councillors on Wednesday to approve a resolution that states Winnipeg can never sell or privatize a municipal utility without a binding public referendum.
The motion comes as some members of the public claim the city’s proposed water, sewer and power utility amounts to privatization.
The utility is intended to assume control for water treatment, sewage treatment, garbage and recycling collection and may also produce green energy. It may also extend sewage-treatment services to neighbouring municipalities.
The most contentious aspect of the utility proposal is the possibility of entering into a partnership with a private engineering firm to complete up to $1 billion worth of sewage-plant upgrades and combined-sewer replacements.
Katz has promised to amend the utility business plan to clear up uncertainty over the proposal. But Couns. John Orlikow (River Heights) and Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge) have authored a motion to delay the vote until September.