Gillingham pledges growth office to speed up projects

Scott Gillingham says a new Winnipeg growth office would maintain a “shovel-ready” list of projects with the greatest potential to boost the city’s economy, if he’s re-elected as mayor.

A new chief growth officer would be hired to lead the office, with a goal to ensure the most promising projects have up-to-date cost estimates and designs, so they can quickly move ahead when funding becomes available.

“We need to be ready … so that when levels of government come forward and want to invest, we can say yes immediately and get to work in building the infrastructure that is required to grow our city,” said Gillingham.

The growth office, which he referred to as Winnipeg GO, would consolidate key staff who support economic growth in one group. That would include up to six new full-time staff positions. An unspecified number of existing employees would also be redeployed to support its work.

The office would also assign city “growth leaders” in multiple departments to address any project bottlenecks and spark reforms, coordinate efforts to attract investment with Winnipeg Economic Development and Tourism and add more economic detail to city reports, such as tax revenue and job creation estimates.

“Within each department, we need one or two people to see themselves as economic growth agents, so that if they’re in water and waste, public works, whichever department, they see themselves as having an economic lens on the decisions that are being made,” said Gillingham.

The city would also develop a “311” style dedicated phone line that small businesses could call with questions related to their projects and how city processes or services affect them.

“Right now … as a resident, if you have an issue or a concern or a question, you call 311. If we had something like that, a service like that specific to businesses, we could help get businesses’ questions answered sooner … to enhance and enable businesses to grow more rapidly,” said Gillingham.

The office could support everything from major road projects to precinct developments to business expansions to trade missions, he said.

Chris Lorenc, president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association, supported Gillingham’s pledge at a news conference Monday.

“Growing the economy has to be job No. 1 for every level of government … It’s long overdue,” said Lorenc.

Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Don Woodstock said he would make major changes to road construction, if elected.

That would include: requiring each contractor to finish their first city project before starting another; having city staff inspect all road renewal projects, not third-party firms; and mandating that road reconstruction projects use mobile crushing equipment to convert old pavement into foundation aggregate for reuse.

City crews would be expected to replace sidewalks, with all excavated ones prepped, backfilled and poured within 24 hours.

Woodstock said he would also require more 24-hour construction schedules for road projects, to help get them done sooner.

He said his promises would require the city to hire at least 500 more staff.

Woodstock did not have a cost estimate for the pledges but said recycling road materials should save millions of dollars each year, which would help cover the tab.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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Christopher Clacio, who is also running for mayor, said he would aim to impose new pay limits for city council members, if elected.

He promised to eliminate salary top-ups for standing policy committee chairpersons and cap total compensation for the mayor, as well as each city councillor and senior administrator, to a maximum of $200,000 per year.

Clacio said he would also meet with as many city departments and employees as possible, with listening sessions, forums and site visits, to boost collaboration.

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.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.