Manitoba entities eye federal budget wish list

A $32-million development could land near Winnipeg’s airport — but first, organizers are seeking federal money.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority joined a number of Manitoba organizations submitting requests to Ottawa ahead of the next national government budget. Cash to increase food processing locally, attract United States researchers and bolster arts groups were among the requests.

Ottawa is set to release its budget Nov. 4.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority touted itself as embarking on a project supporting “nation-building, economic development and trade goals.”

It’s eyeing a “West Lands” development adjacent to the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. A total of 2.6 million square feet of real estate would be built atop 220 acres, a submission to the House of Commons standing committee on finance reads.

“(The development is) perfectly positioned to become a thriving logistics and industrial hub,” according to the WAA’s six-page document.

The WAA declined an interview request. The airport — and, likely, the proposed West Lands — falls within CentrePort Canada, Manitoba’s tri-modal inland port spanning 20,000 acres. CentrePort construction is ongoing.

West Lands could add $1.9 billion to Manitoba’s GDP during construction and another $485.6 million annually once operational, the WAA outlined. It projects the creation of 2,770 jobs and $24.4 million in annual property taxes for Winnipeg.

Already, a “major anchor tenant” has confirmed a 100,000-square-foot space. It plans to be operational by 2027, the WAA’s submission reads. “Government support is essential to move this development forward.”

The WAA pointed to its own finances, which it said have been hindered by COVID-19 pandemic-era travel restrictions and the current geopolitical environment. Recent passenger traffic was 15 per cent lower than expected, the WAA wrote. Its submission is dated Aug. 1.

The airport authority also called for a cap to airport rent, the creation of a biometrics strategy to modernize screening at airports and a new program to assist struggling regional air service.

Meanwhile, the University of Manitoba is aiming for a research funding increase and a way to streamline talent from the United States.

U.S.-based academics and researchers — including Canadian ex-pats — have increasingly expressed interest in the U of M, said president Michael Benarroch.

It comes as American universities face funding cuts.

“We would like to see an investment that would allow us to move forward to attract some of the talent that is available. You have to move fairly quickly to be able to attract people — especially because there’ll be a lot of competition,” Benarroch said.

In a submission to Ottawa, the Winnipeg-based university emphasized its role in helping with national defence and nation-building projects. Research on the Port of Churchill is ongoing, Benarroch noted.

The Port of Churchill is a contender among the major projects Ottawa could fast-track. Politicians have heralded the arctic deep-water site as a new trade route and a shining economic development opportunity.

Canada’s economy will grow through more funding of food manufacturing, said Michael Mikulak, executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba.

The organization was part of an Aug. 1 submission to the feds by Food and Beverage Canada. The association is asking for a $200-million processing fund and a long-term commitment of $2 billion over five years to “modernize Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing capacity.”

Food manufacturing accounts for seven per cent of Manitoba’s GDP. Still, local businesses are often shipping unfinished product, such as canola, for processing elsewhere.

And food prices continue to increase: the province logged a 3.9 per cent year-over-year jump in food prices in September, Manitoba Bureau of Statistics data show.

“I think the whole world is looking for different markets,” Mikulak said, referencing strained trade with the United States. “This is an opportunity for Canada to kind of lean in to something that we do really well, which is agri-food.”

The national food manufacturing association has asked for a sector-specific foreign labour program, a regulatory modernization process and tax policy adjustments.

Western business councils — including Manitoba’s — are also calling for tax changes. Reducing top personal income tax rates or expanding tax brackets are among the requests, as is abandoning a proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap.

“We have to create the right policy for investment — that’s the bottom line,” said Bram Strain, the Business Council of Manitoba’s chief executive.

A number of Manitoba arts entities, including the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, asked for an extra $140 million to be funnelled annually to the Canada Council for the Arts.

One caveat: some money should target an “ongoing regional discrepancy” with council funding in the Prairie provinces, submissions read.

Basic Income Manitoba, the Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs also made submissions to the House of Commons standing committee on finance ahead of the budget.

The AMC is asking for, at minimum, $42.5 billion for kindergarten through Grade 12 infrastructure and $11.2 billion for on-reserve housing, among other things.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com