Dec 30 2024- City Council Has To Justify Continuing WMR Membership

Part 1- This weekend’s columns in the Winnipeg Sun are reviewed, as important issues we’ve covered all year long came to a head.

The vaunted Metro Region Plan20-50 was deep-sixed, Wab Kinew finally decided illegal encampments had to go and stay gone, and former Winnipeg broadcaster Dahlia Kurtz is organizing the fight against Jew-haters, declaring, “Our leaders have failed us. We will not fail us.”

We fill in some details- and there’s news about terrorist-supporting mobs taking over shopping malls during Christmas across the country you probably haven’t heard about yet.

Then- a special interview to discuss the story of the year, which started with an August 4th column by Marty Gold that altered the future of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region.

11.44 Part 2 – From the Sun column in August:

In 2021, Mayor Cheryl Christian of West St. Paul told the media, “Plan 2050 will have significant impact on all businesses, citizens and property owners living within the Winnipeg Metro Region boundaries.”

She was sounding the alarm- but after the blueprint document that included the power of expropriation emerged from WRM backrooms, the City of Winnipeg did nothing to get the people of Winnipeg informed or made aware.

It all blew up at the Niverville public hearing, and you’ll hear how the scene unfolded from Don Woodstock and Marty, after the WMR board foisted dealing with hundreds of affected residents stuck in the lobby onto their diminutive Executive Director.

Woodstock, who operates a security firm, addressed them when she floundered and placated the crowd. They tells how shortly after, most of the board had snuck out a side door and none of them explained their postponement ruling to the restless crowd in person.

A discussion of the roles of mismanagement of the public hearings, Mayor Scott Gillingham, a biased media, and Wab Kinew’s play to support the dissenting RM’s gets analyzed.

From the column:

“While Gillingham and WMR staff insisted opposing views were based on “misinformation”, within two weeks, a total of 12 out of the 18 member municipalities had rejected the plan, including one (Rockwood) that claimed the consultants had never even spoken to them before tabling a document that would determine future development in their district.”

This is story of the year because it was a blatant power grab and it cost a lot of money to be just be blown up by the people responsible for its failure who are sticking taxpayers with the bill.

The narrative of “it’s conspiracy theories” fell to the legitimacy of the concerns about democracy. Listen to what really forced the WMR to unanimously scuttle the plan.

26.15 – From the Sun column:

The NDP’s Bill 4 would revoke making participation mandatory.

That means elected officials in places like Niverville, Headingley, East St. Paul, and Winnipeg will have to vote on maintaining WMR membership.

Woodstock and Marty explore what sort of delegations with questions might appear when City Hall has to do what every other WRM member will – hold a public vote about continuing to be a WRA member.

With Gillingham being on the Metro executive committee, questions will arise about Plan expenses, consulting costs, and potential conflicts of interest (Woodstock says out loud what was only whispered until now- “their friends and their cronies”).

Taxpayers deserve answers about the lack of return on investment, and why Gillingham and city planners went along with the scheme to override the municipal autonomy of our neighbours, which was confirmed by Municipal Affairs Minister Glen Simard as being why the province stepped in.

As for the slanted portrayal of Plan20-50 opponents by Winnipeg’s broadcast media as ‘misinformed crazies’, Woodstock says “you should be ashamed.”

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