Candidates spar, commit to infrastructure plans at mayoral forum

Clear but diverging views about how to grow Winnipeg’s economy – and what role infrastructure investment plays in that — were heard at the mayoral forum October 5, organized by the MHCA in partnership with nine other leading business organizations.

Glen Murray, who led with 40% support in a Probe Research opinion poll September 24, said his primary concern is to grow the tax base, not the tax burden, and the first step is to return to the plan set out for strategic infrastructure investment. Murray stressed City Hall needs to encourage and support home-grown innovation by adopting new products and services.

Scott Gillingham said growing Winnipeg’s economy demands collaboration, especially building a strong relationship with the province – what’s good for Winnipeg is good for Manitoba.

But, primarily, City Council needs to stick to the five-year budget plan it first launched five years ago. Working groups for various sectors will feed into the process for setting priorities.

Murray and Gillingham were joined by Kevin Klein and Shaun Loney at the breakfast forum, presented by MHCA, Business Council of Manitoba, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters-Mb, Manitoba Home Builders’ Association, Manitoba Trucking Assoc., Merit Contractors Association -Mb, Urban Development Institute and Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Assoc.

Klein said he would first set about to know if Winnipeg has a revenue problem or a spending problem. Further, he said, Winnipeg must work to cut crime because prospective businesses doing risk assessment are being scared away.

A key area of Klein’s plan for economic growth would be to encourage Indigenous economic development; he would hire an Indigenous economic development officer.

Loney, who co-founded a number of social enterprise operations including BUILD, committed to turning Winnipeg into a green-economy hub, encouraging people to buy electric vehicles with a a public EV charging system and ride electric buses. Further, he said the city would build what he calls ‘metro mobility’ which would see vans used to quickly and frequently pick up and deliver people to their destinations.

The forum saw the candidates asked a series of questions by moderator Richard Cloutier, host of CJOB, on leadership, temperament, and solving the crime and homelessness problems.

On infrastructure investment, Klein committed $2 million to create an infrastructure plan that assigns priority to high-need and high-value projects.

Gillingham stressed transportation infrastructure and trade routes are critical to the economy and he would do a return-on-investment analysis of widening Kenaston Blvd and extending Chief Peguis Trail to the city’s northwest sector.

CentrePort Canada south lands, lying in the city of Winnipeg, must also be serviced to allow the areas full build out, delivering 16,000 jobs, he said.

Murray said Winnipeg needs a land use plan and a transportation master plan that work together. He noted that all the major regional trucking routes designed to efficiently move traffic through the city have become congested because commercial development has been allowed alongside them.

Loney said his plan is simple “fix it first” because Winnipeg cannot afford new infrastructure. Expanding Kenaston is the most expensive and least effective way to solve congestion, and that plan has been rejected twice already by federal funding partners.

On the issue of leadership, Murray and Klein took the most direct hits. Murray left his last job, at Calgary’s Pembina Institute, in a cloud of allegations about his professional conduct, including sexually harassment and assault. He has denied such allegations and said Winnipeggers know his record, as he was elected mayor twice, in 1998 and in 2002.

Further, he said, he has been endorsed in his campaign this year by high-profile individuals he worked with to get things done in the mayoralty – former city CAO Annitta Stenning and Gail Asper, who delivered on the founding of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.

Klein said it is unfair that he be tarred by the fact he worked with Peter Nygard in 2012 and again in 2014, noting he left the $300,000 job, because Nygard was a “terrible person” and tyrant. He stressed, however, he never saw anything illegal while working for the man.

MHCA President Chris Lorenc said the forum was a success – the room was at capacity with 144 people – and gave thanks to the masterful moderation by Cloutier.

Lorenc said he was encouraged by the candidates’ responses on economic development and infrastructure because they used the term ‘invest’ repeatedly, rather than ‘spend.’ That recognizes that to grow the economy, funds must be used wisely to effect a return on investment, expanding the GDP, he said.

While each candidate brought different set of values and experiences to inform their views and positions, all were worthy of hearing, he said.

For the full recording of the forum, click here.