City preparing to mark 40th anniversary of amalgamation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2012 (5257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Forty years after the unification of Winnipeg, leading political figures of the time still have mixed feelings about whether it was the right thing to do.

In 1971, The City of Winnipeg Act incorporated the rural municipalities of Charleswood, Fort Garry, North Kildonan and Old Kildonan; the Town of Tuxedo; the cities of East Kildonan, West Kildonan, St. Vital, Transcona, St. Boniface and St. James-Assiniboia; the City of Winnipeg, and the Metropolitan Corp. of Greater Winnipeg into one city. On Jan. 1, 1972, Unicity was legally born.

Paul Martin, a lifelong Transcona resident and a former mayor of Transcona, said he was against the amalgamation.

“I felt bigger was not better. I think we lost our identity, as we were so used to controlling it,” Martin said.

The Second World War veteran said while services in the area grew, the unique character of Transcona — which was founded in the early 1900s as the site of repair shops for the Grand Trunk Pacific and National Transcontinental Railways — was diminished.

“I think we lost our sense of destiny and charm. In the long run, we had more fire and police services in the city. But before, where you had one building inspector, all of a sudden you had two or three inspectors coming in. You might have a total stranger who doesn’t know the area,” Martin said.

“It was the same situation with the school division. Transcona had its own and it amalgamated with River East and got lost in the shuffle with people who never lived in the area, so it’s not part of you,” said Martin, who is a driving force behind the Transcona Historical Museum.

One logistical difference in 1972 was a city council comprised of 50 councillors from each of the existing wards — with Stephen Juba as mayor — compared to 15 councillors today.

Southdale resident Robert Bockstael, a former St-Boniface area councillor for Tache Ward and a Liberal MP, said councillors had a larger support network back in his days in political office.

“Is the city better served today? I’m not sure,” said Bockstael, who became a city councillor in 1973.

“Back in 1972, most sitting councillors didn’t seek amalgamation.

“The old system worked quite well. There were four St. Boniface area councillors and a community office that held regular meetings with 25 citizens who were part of a residential advisory committee.

“We met every two weeks and took care of the region and then brought our concerns to general council. This meant four area councillors had smaller areas of representation,” said Bockstael, noting current St. Boniface councillor Dan Vandal “does an outstanding job, because he represents so many more people than I did.”

John Angus, a former St. Norbert city councillor and MLA who was first elected to civic office in 1977, hails Unicity as a general success.

“Unicity brought economics of scale and efficiencies to the city. This allowed for things like better snow-clearing and road maintenance,” said Angus, who now lives in Lac du Bonnet.

Angus said some area residents were concerned about St. Norbert’s lack of identity after the amalgamation, but in the “greater scheme of things, it was the right thing to do. The community has retained its francophone and Métis heritage, including its school board.”

He added the subsequent shrinkage of city councillors from 30 to 15 was a shrewd move, as it allowed many politicians to switch from to part-time to full-time roles.

“Also, at city council, unlike other levels of government, it didn’t tend to matter what colour your political stripes were. If the garbage wasn’t being picked up, it wasn’t being picked up,” Angus said.

One leading political expert said Unicity created a core power base in the city.

“Previously, there were multiple governments, fragments, and everyone had their own police and fire departments and collected taxes,” said Paul. G. Thomas, professor emeritus in political studies at the University of Manitoba.

“Under Ed Schreyer, the idea was better and higher quality services at lower cost. It never quite lived up to it.”

Thomas said shrinking the number of city councillors to 15 has made power more centralized.
“Schreyer thought he had the balance right, but in the name of efficiency he marginalized local democracy,” Thomas said. 

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com