MHCA pushes back on provincial short-changing, City of Winnipeg budget cuts
The MHCA has called upon Mayor Brian Bowman and City Council to restore planned investment in the local street renewal program for 2019, and future years, despite the provincial government’s reneging on funding commitments. That provincial decision shortchanged the city by $40 million in the 2018 local and regional street renewal budget, and would pull as much as $174 million from the city’s planning for street repairs, from 2019-2024.
“City councillors were told March 7 that the cuts to the local street renewal program this year means there will be no residential street construction in 2019. How is that possible?” asked MHCA President Chris Lorenc.
“That, quite simply, is untenable – how can we be telling Winnipeggers that the streets in need of repair will just decay further?”
Lorenc sent Bowman and the full council an email, pressing them to restore the cuts to the 2019 budget and beyond.
The MHCA, in its letter, asked City Council to restore the shortfall to the local renewal budget this year, and to seek Winnipeggers’ help in pushing the Pallister government to make good on its commitment, and to sign a new five-year agreement, which has served as base funding for the Local and Regional Street Renewal program.
Click here to read the full letter MHCA sent to Mayor Bowman and Council.
