Selinger pledges to split Brandon road projects 50-50

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This article was published 07/04/2016 (3445 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Greg Selinger promised Thursday that the NDP will go 50-50 on road projects in Brandon.

It’s the same kind of deal the province has with Winnipeg, and would replace an annual grant, Selinger told reporters.

“We’re saying we’re willing to match,” Selinger said. Given current Brandon spending on roads, “That would suggest we would do $12 million over four years,” Selinger said.

Selinger predicted Brandon would be able to do more road work with the matching money. While there’s no cap, “The number would be whatever they want. If it got crazy, we’d talk to them.”

Selinger said the NDP government responds to what people in Brandon say they want, whether it be a cancer care centre or new soccer fields at Assiniboine Community College far away from any flooding danger.

Mayor Rick Chrest said in an interview that Selinger’s announcement came as a surprise. He would not comment on its coming less than two weeks before the April 19 election.

Chrest said Manitoba’s mayors and reeves are pleased to see parties responding in various ways to their fair share, fair say campaign for more infrastructure money and more autonomy in spending it.

“All the parties are paying attention to that. This would sound to me to be an enhanced level of support.”

Chrest said Brandon’s budget includes about $3 million in street repairs; if there was a policy of matching Brandon’s spending in future, “It would give us an opportunity to do more.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari stood outside city hall to promise a new school for south Brandon.

The NDP promised a school a few months ago, but the LIberals guaranteed they would build it in their first term.

“Brandon has been asking four or five years. They are just committing to it at election time,” Brandon East Liberal candidate Vanessa Hamilton said as she stood alongside Bokhari.

“We recognize they’ve made a lot of promises — that’s what they do,” Hamilton said. “We’re committed to building a school in the south end of Brandon. That’s a $20- to $25-million commitment. There are approximately 500 children being bused” out of that area, Hamilton said.

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She said it will be a kindergarten to Grade 8 school, which will have a full-day kindergarten and a daycare centre. It will be built at the corner of Maryland Avenue and 9th Street.

The NDP has had a policy of building a daycare centre in every new school, but the Liberals would not commit Thursday. “That’s a totally different commitment for another time,” Bokhari said.

Selinger and Bokhari took shots at Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister, who passed on a Thursday evening leaders’ debate in Brandon. All three took part in a Brandon debate earlier Thursday. Pallister told reporters he has been invited to dozens of debates, and is turning down most to concentrate on travelling 20,000 kilometres to visit as many communities as possible during the campaign.

Missing Wednesday and Thursday from campaign events was Brandon West Liberal candidate Billy Moore, who recently called for the closing of some hospitals. Campaign officials said Moore was busy studying his policy manual.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca