Selinger vows $10B more for infrastructure, including city projects

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This article was published 23/03/2016 (3491 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greg Selinger says he’s willing to offer the City of Winnipeg a “new flexible relationship” when it comes to funding certain infrastructure projects.

At a campaign announcement on Wednesday, Selinger said, if re-elected, the NDP would be willing to increase its share of municipal projects that usually see each level of government contribute a one-third share.

He cited the Chief Peguis Trail extension and the new Louise Bridge as examples of inititatives the NDP would be willing to fund at a higher level to ensure they get done.

He said increased infrastructure spending is especially needed right now to counteract a sluggish economy.

“We’re prepared to go more than a third on our part to ensure that these projects roll forward and take some pressure off the city because the key thing is to make things go ahead right now.”

Selinger used a construction site at Red River College’s Notre Dame Avenue campus as a backdrop for his campaign stop on Wednesday.

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He repeated an NDP commitment to spend $10 billion on infrastructure in the decade leading to 2022, including $250 million to renew Winnipeg roads and $100 million on active transportation projects.

Selinger also committed to spending $900 million on flood protection, including would-be improvements to the Portage Diversion and Shellmouth Dam, more community dikes and construction of an outlet for Lake St. Martin and expanding a Lake Manitoba drainage channel built on an emergency basis in 2011. The Trudeau government pledged $248 million for the two channels in Tuesday’s federal budget.

The NDP leader also repeated a pledge to begin work to twin the Trans-Canada Highway east to Ontario so that it will be safe to increase maximum speeds on the route to 110 km/h.

The Progressive Conservatives Wednesday accused the NDP of ignoring its municipal partners’ wishes to promote their own pet projects. The PCs said, for example, that the Louise Bridge is not one of the city’s priorities.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca