The organization representing 13 construction and trade unions says Winnipeg needs to stop building new large-scale suburbs for several years.

The Manitoba Building & Construction Trades Council is calling for a minimum 10-year moratorium on major housing developments.

The group says the new neighbourhoods put a strain on the city's budget while adding to the growing infrastructure deficit. It says the demand for new emergency services, schools, libraries, and other municipal services created by these suburbs can be financially crippling.

“Unless we take a deep look at how we are developing the city and where those investment dollars are going the problem gets bigger and bigger over time,” said Sudhir Sandhu from the Manitoba Building & Construction Trades Council.

It says Winnipeg’s existing roads and older neighbourhoods are ignored and continue to crumble.

Some at city hall, however, say the new suburbs are critical to deal with population growth and to prevent people leaving the city for bedroom communities already expanding.

“They'd be using our services yet going outside and paying their taxes to a rural municipality which I don't think is good for the infrastructure for the City of Winnipeg,” said Coun. Scott Fielding (St. James – Brooklands).

Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski), however, said new developments are taking funds away from fixing crumbling roads in older neighbourhoods.

“What we're talking about is stopping more housing to be done in some areas until we can get a handle on the infrastructure that we already have,” said Eadie.

Waverley West homeowner Debbie Ristimaki said people should have more options when searching for a new home.

“Even from a landscaping perspective, we had a clean slate to work with. We had more of an opportunity to create what we're looking for,” said Ristimaki.

The construction trades council said it’s putting out its position now because it’s an election year and it wants to know where candidates stand.

They would also like to see more incentives for living downtown and in older Winnipeg neighbourhoods, and more disincentives to develop new neighbourhoods by making developers pay more of the costs associated with new suburbs.

Coun. Fielding disagrees, saying those costs would simply be passed onto the buyer.

- with a report from Jeff Keele