Regional municipal planning idea suspended in the greater Winnipeg area

It’s back to the drawing board for controversial Plan 20-50 as the Winnipeg Metro Region voted Thursday to stop the plan and begin work on a new one.

“We’ve pressed a reset button,” said Mike Moore, the chair of the region.

He said the vote was unanimous and that the plan will not move forward.

“It also represents an opportunity to go in a slightly different direction.”

The proposed planning document set targets and guidelines for the next quarter-century of growth in the Winnipeg Metro Region – a provincially mandated body made up of the City of Winnipeg and 17 surrounding municipalities.

The plan has faced backlash from several of those municipalities over their forced membership.

“That was actually one of the biggest concerns, was the loss of autonomy,” said Joy Sul, the mayor of St. Andrews.

That all changed with the introduction of Bill 4 – Manitoba’s Planning Amendment Act – which will give municipalities the chance to opt out of the region or opt in.

Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard said this is a resetting of the table.

“The previous iteration was way too prescriptive, and it was dictating local communities what they must do,” said Simard.

The act also pushes back the Jan. 1 deadline for a regional plan for two years.

“There was a lot of work done on the first plan over many years, and there was a lot of inclusivity. But we’re going to focus more on what’s best for the municipalities,” said Moore.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham had supported the plan. In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, he said, “There’s no question we need a regional approach to economic development if we’re going to be competitive for new industries and new jobs. Without it, we’ll lose out to other jurisdictions. So I’m open to working with any of our neighbours who want to get serious about growing the economy.”

Mayor Sul said they are willing to work with everyone.

“But there just needed to be more clarification and more clarity on the whole plan,” she said.

Moore is hopeful that will happen this time around.

“We’ve learned, obviously, from the first exercise, and are really looking forward to moving ahead full speed,” said Moore.

Bill 4 still needs to be passed through the legislature.