Legislation will see municipalities wrest power from municipal board

Winnipeg and other cities will soon have the final say on more land-use planning decisions after years of pushing the province to restore that power.

For several years, the provincially appointed Manitoba Municipal Board has heard appeals of city decisions. The city was then required to pass bylaws that follow the board’s recommendations.

Winnipeg and many other municipalities opposed giving the board that power, arguing it undermined their autonomy.

In June, a provincial bill is expected to take effect, giving cities the final say, said Lori Lavoie, the Municipal Board’s chairwoman, during a public presentation at the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters inquiry Wednesday.

“The legislation dictates that the bylaw of the city actually follow our report and recommendation. There’s a change in Bill 33 that actually removes that requirement,” said Lavoie.

She said the updated legislation makes sense.

“By nature of it being a report and recommendation, in my opinion, it’s not something that should be binding. And, so, the legislation, in terms of it becoming then a requirement that it be followed in a bylaw, was really a contradiction in terms of what the spirit of a recommendation is,” said Lavoie.

A provincial guide to the proposed legislation notes a municipality must still consider any recommendations from the Municipal Board but “has final say on how to proceed with their proposed bylaw.”

The bill was introduced in March, among many others, and initially attracted little attention.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said he was pleased to learn of the proposed changes Wednesday.

“I want to credit the province on the changes that they’re looking to make because, ultimately, council needs to have authority and accountability, and this gives council, municipal councils, the responsibility and the authority to, ultimately, make the decision,” said Gillingham.

The mayor noted elected officials serving Winnipeg and many other municipalities pushed for the change. Placing final decisions with elected municipal leaders, instead of the provincially appointed board, allows voters to hold decision-makers accountable, he said.

“Because of our democratic process, there’s a built-in mechanism to hold us accountable … When a municipal board is making decisions that council can’t overturn, or just has to implement, there’s no mechanism of accountability,” said Gillingham.

In a telephone interview, Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard said the “transformative” bill grants cities’ requests.

“We respect the cities’ and municipalities’ abilities to be able to respond to their land-use planning needs. They’re a mature level of government that know their communities well,” said Simard.

The bill will affect matters considered after it is finalized but won’t be retroactive, he said.

Lavoie discussed the bill during the WPS headquarters inquiry’s fourth phase, “recommendations for change,” which aims to prevent problems from the HQ construction project from being repeated.

The headquarters construction project at 245 Smith St. suffered from extensive problems. An external audit found it was severely mismanaged. Initially expected to cost $135 million, its price soared to $214 million.

The inquiry’s mandate calls for the commissioner to consider “the current and previous legislative framework for oversight of municipal planning for large-scale publicly funded construction projects, including the role of the Municipal Board.”

Lavoie said the board is not suited to take on that role.

“The board lacks the necessary resources, technical expertise and structure needed to provide meaningful oversight of capital projects. The board is already managing in very difficult circumstances to fulfill its existing very broad mandate, due to resource constraints,” she said.

Lavoie noted the quasi-judicial board already handles a wide variety of land-use, tax assessment and other types of appeals.

Gillingham said he agrees the Municipal Board is not suited to add additional oversight on large city projects.

“I really don’t see the Municipal Board having a role in project oversight. The City of Winnipeg has made significant changes in our project oversight … since the police headquarters was opened,” he said.

Gillingham noted the city implemented recommendations from several construction project audits.

It also hired a chief construction officer last year, who gives council advice and second opinions on many major projects, including the $3.1-billion north end sewage treatment plant upgrade.

The mayor said he has also invited provincial and federal representatives to join an oversight committee for the treatment plant upgrade, the city’s most expensive infrastructure project yet.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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