COLUMN: Report from the Legislature – Consultation needed on Plan 20-50

This month’s report from La Verendrye comes as we are nearing the end of summer. It sure has been busy in the region, and I’ve been enjoying all of the festivities which have allowed me to connect with more people and enjoy everything that our area has to offer.

There have been so many festivals and events in August and still a few to go in this last full weekend of the summer before the September long weekend. This upcoming weekend we still get to enjoy another great parade at the Kleefeld Honey Festival along with everything else the honey capital has to offer. I am expecting an overwhelming turnout for this parade just as there has been for each of the others throughout our summer. Along with Kleefeld, I will be out enjoying the Marchand Logging Days and Sundown Gymkhana.

All of August’s activity wasn’t only the result of our great festivals and celebrations. The month started with a great deal of discussion around the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region Plan 20-50. Although La Verendrye does not include any of the capital region, there has been significant attention across our corner of the province. As many people know I spent 12 years on municipal council prior to running for provincial politics and served on many regional boards during that time that included representatives from the capital region. I clearly remember the discussions that took place when this plan first started to be discussed. I was also very involved with the creation of the very first development plan and zoning bylaw of the municipality I represented and then in 2021 again worked with the government departments to develop a refresh of the first development plan created back in 2010. As a result of this background, I am very familiar with development planning and the relationship between the province and municipalities when it comes to planning freedom. This in fact, is one of the major reasons that I have run for provincial politics. I ran on the basis that government should be far smaller and more authority should be given to local government because they are the ones most closely linked to their residents and also most directly accountable.

The centralized authority for planning and development had been growing but back in 2019 the federal government had grant money available for capital regions across our country for planning regionally. Along with this the provincial government at the time changed legislation to allow a regional planning district like the WMR to have authority in planning, much of which normally would be under the authority of the province. The Aug. 8 meeting in Niverville was faced with a great deal of opposition. Many of the concerns are valid and I feel that a plan at this scale requires much more local public consultation. Many people that I spoke to outside of the Heritage Centre seemed to feel that abandoning the Plan 20-50 would allow for decisions and authority to be given back to the individual towns or municipalities.

As the PC Party of Manitoba we were quick to call on the government and Premier Wab Kinew to pause the plan and allow for further consultation. Although this is what is needed, my greater concern was that he would abolish the plan altogether. As I stated earlier, our system right now doesn’t allow for local authority over development planning. Your local municipalities can make the greatest, most responsible long-term development plans and they will still be under final decision of the provincial government. I can only imagine that Premier Kinew was smiling ear to ear when he saw the videos of opposition at the Niverville meeting. If I was to bet on what will happen next it would be the NDP government abolishing the legislation which allowed for the regional planning district to have planning authority, reverting all control back to the province.

I hope to see you at any of the upcoming summer festivities and look forward to having more of those important discussions around what is important to you. We are only a month away from the fall session of the legislature and I am there to represent you and your concerns which are much easier to express when I am able to have those important conversations. Don’t hesitate to call my office at (204) 434-6736.