Municipal board searches for new leader after chair resigns

The head of the Manitoba Municipal Board has resigned.

Lori Lavoie, who has been a member of the arm’s-length provincial branch that hears property assessment and planning appeals since at least 2015, will step down as chair on May 31.

Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard learned of Lavoie’s resignation last week. He said he wasn’t given a reason for her departure.

“Lori was a dedicated and passionate and expert board chair,” Simard said. “I’m very thankful for her service.”

The shakeup comes as Manitoba prepares to tweak the Municipal Board’s responsibilities. A bill before legislators would require a 120-day turnaround for board reviews on certain secondary plan or zoning bylaw cases.

The legislation would also remove a requirement for municipalities to pass bylaws to follow board recommendations when their decisions were appealed.

Winnipeg and other jurisdictions have opposed that practice, saying it undermines their autonomy.

Lavoie, during a public presentation Wednesday, said allowing municipalities to have the final say makes sense. She was not available for an interview Thursday.

The provincial government is in talks with candidates to take the leadership position, Simard said.

Her exit isn’t expected to impact wait times for board reviews — an acting chair will fill in, and there are other board members, noted Andrea Doyle, who teaches administrative law at the University of Manitoba.

One municipal board member said Lavoie had an “enormous” workload, adding they didn’t know the reason for her departure.

The Manitoba Municipal Board has not released an annual report — which shows the number of outstanding applications — since 2022.

At the time, the board counted 1,921 outstanding applications, appeals and referrals.

The Manitoba government didn’t provide current data by end of day Thursday.

“Obviously there must’ve been some backlog because the province is instituting this ‘120 days until a hearing,’” Doyle said. “Any kind of delay issue would be an access to justice issue.”

James Mercury, a partner at MLT Aikins who specializes in municipal law and property tax, said in an email it’s “not uncommon” to wait more than four years for a hearing date on property tax appeals.

Tory Deputy Leader Jeff Bereza told reporters Wednesday the board is dealing with an increased workload and backlog of cases.

He was municipal board chair from 2016 to 2023; Lavoie overlapped as vice-chair.

“Lori is a very capable lawyer. She’s a very capable writer,” he said. “(She) was also a huge part of reducing the amount of tax assessment issues that went on with the municipal board.”

The province has hired two new municipal board staffers and a clerk, and it’s appointed six new board members and a new vice-chair, Simard said.

The hires, and the proposed legislation, are aimed at reducing backlogs and rescoping the board’s powers, he added.

The entity has been “overburdened and given an excessive amount of responsibility.”

“They were basically relitigating a mature government’s work,” Simard said, adding the province is seeking to remove de novo hearings, preventing the municipal board from starting cases from scratch when there has already been public appeals.

The bill is expected to pass this spring. It draws on recommendations from a 2024 statutory review of provincial planning legislation. Braid Solutions conducted the review.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities supports the legislation.

“Municipalities have consistently raised concerns about lengthy municipal board delays, outdated administrative processes, and the significant legal costs associated with appeals,” an association spokesperson wrote in a statement.

“All of (these) can stall important community projects and investment.”

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com