Tories promise generous funding boost to City of Winnipeg
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Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government says it will give a “generous” funding increase to the cash-strapped City of Winnipeg, ending a seven-year freeze on operating grants to local governments.
Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith confirmed Thursday the province will boost cash transfers to municipalities, one day after the City of Winnipeg tabled its preliminary budget, and months ahead of a provincial election.
“Under the leadership of Premier (Heather) Stefanson, we are committed to meeting the needs of Manitobans and the communities we serve,” Smith said in response to questions from the Free Press. “We are pleased to confirm we will be providing a generous increase in operating grants to municipalities this year.”
Smith declined to elaborate on what his government considers generous, but said conversations with local governments continue.
“We are currently in the process of pre-budget consultations and look forward to communicating with municipal leaders in the coming weeks,” he said.
Minister Eileen Clarke, who had held the municipal relations portfolio, said in November she hoped to propose a more acceptable funding model for municipalities to the treasury board in December. In late January, Stefanson also suggested the province would help the City of Winnipeg cope with soaring inflation.
Operating grants for local governments have been flat since 2016 when the newly elected Tories introduced lump-sum funding.
Smith put an end to the uncertainty about his government’s plan for operating grants just hours after Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham called for a new provincial funding model that’s long-term, predictable and moves away from annual cash grants.
A model is needed that better reflects the city’s share of economic growth and revenue generation, he said. The mayor plans to pitch his proposal to Smith at an upcoming meeting.
“Frozen funding levels have added to the financial challenges of the City of Winnipeg. I am looking to see an increase in funding levels to the city, to assist the city with growing our economy, providing key services, but also in assisting those who are struggling with homelessness and addiction,” Gillingham said following a speech to the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce that reflected on his first 100 days in office, a significant number of which were spent developing the budget released Wednesday.
The capital city is again in a tough financial position: its rainy-day fund is running dry, revenue is rebounding slowly from the COVID-19 pandemic, and inflation is driving up service costs. On Tuesday, the city reported an $83-million operating deficit for 2022.
City hall is proposing a 3.5 per cent property tax increase, an increase to the frontage levy, and significant cost-control measures to get back on track. It must also come up with a plan to top up its financial stabilization reserve, which was $66.4 million short of the council-mandated minimum as of Dec. 31, 2022.
The spending blueprint included a $121.2-million operating grant from the province and contained a caveat that any additional, unbudgeted and unallocated revenue from the provincial government go toward reducing cost-cutting measures. It also estimated its six-year capital plan will generate $190 million in revenue for the Manitoba government.
Gillingham said his first 100 days in the mayor’s office passed by in a blink. However, the earliest days of his four-year term were also marked by tragedies that devastated communities, families and shook their confidence in community social safety nets, many of which are provincially funded.
“Every so often with the new dawn arises an unforeseen crisis and the planned agenda you had is set aside,” Gillingham said. “Day 30 for me as mayor was one such day.”
On Dec. 1, Winnipeg police charged Jeremy Skibicki with the slayings of three Indigenous women whose remains hadn’t been found. He was already charged with the killing of a 24-year-old woman whose partial remains were found in a garbage bin and at the city landfill.
Gillingham paused to gather his composure before saying their names: Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman (the name given by elders to the woman who has yet to be identified).
“Day 40 was another such day when Tyree Cayer was murdered in our flagship library on Dec. 11. We had another young woman, (Kayla) Rae, pass away in a transit shelter,” the former pastor told the crowd of business professionals.
“These incidents put a renewed spotlight, in the first 100 days, on Winnipeg’s pressing issues: issues of homelessness, and addiction and mental health, poverty, racial inequity, violence.”
Dealing with these issues is traditionally the responsibility of provincial or federal governments, but the city has been forced to act, Gillingham said.
“We have to step up and act now to ensure that people have shelter, protection and supports that they need,” he said.
The city needs the resources of senior governments to provide mental health, addictions and treatment services.
“As a city, we don’t have the financial capacity, nor do we have the departments, that can provide those services,” he said. “We have to do this together and we’re going to need the province and the federal governments’ resources to help.”
danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
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