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BORIS MINKEVICH \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
The rural municipalities of St. Clements and East St. Paul are the latest communities to withdraw from the capital planning for the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking for members who want to go there voluntarily rather than being mandated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten of 18 municipalities originally placed in the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region\u2019s long-term plan have withdrawn from the group.<\/p>\n
The plan will cover everything from land use to recreation. Involvement was mandatory under the former Progressive Conservative government, which oversaw the project\u2019s launch. The New Democrats announced in 2024 that participation would become optional.<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region must submit a regional plan to the province by Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
East St. Paul and St. Clements are the latest municipalities to pull the plug. Both sent requests to withdraw on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n
St. Clements\u2019 chief administrative officer Deepak Joshi pointed to poor timing: communities have until the Oct. 28 municipal election to withdraw, well before the deadline to submit a plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf council had decided to stay, they would be tying the hands of the future council,\u201d Joshi said. \u201cCouncil felt that\u2026 (the) long-term commitment just before an election was imprudent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councillors had questions about the plan\u2019s financial, land use, servicing and governance terms, Joshi said. Municipalities can join the WMR later after going through a public hearing process, he noted.<\/p>\n
Jurisdictions that don\u2019t opt out by Oct. 28 must be on the WMR\u2019s board for eight years.<\/p>\n
Macdonald, Springfield, Tach\u00e9 and Rockwood asked for withdrawals in December and January. The provincial government granted withdrawals to Selkirk, the rural municipalities of West St. Paul and St. Andrews, and the Village of Dunnottar earlier last year.<\/p>\n
Stonewall joins Winnipeg, Cartier, Headingley, Ritchot, Rosser, St. Fran\u00e7ois Xavier and Niverville by staying in the planning region, at least for the time being.<\/p>\n
Stonewall Mayor Sandra Smith said her council was waiting for details in provincial legislation expected in the spring. She echoed Joshi, expressing hesitation about an eight-year commitment without knowing the full plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re not at the table, we know that the regional plan is going to happen,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is, do you want to have a seat at the table and have a say in what the regional plan looks like? Or do you walk away and then find out through legislation that there\u2019s something that has a negative impact on your municipality?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill 33 (The Planning Amendment and City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act), which Simard introduced Thursday, would allow for a three-year gap between the plan\u2019s bylaw implementation and municipalities\u2019 alignment to the plan.<\/p>\n
Property acquisition through expropriation won\u2019t be allowed in the planning region if the bill passes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou build the capital region through consensus, not through different groups doing different things,\u201d Simard said. \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 also providing autonomy to municipalities to be able to go forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t live around the city of Winnipeg and not be a part of the conversation when it comes to planning on the periphery or in the centre of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several municipalities \u2014 including Stonewall and St. Clements \u2014 have ongoing regional partnerships. Stonewall, for example, shares a fire department with the RM of Rockwood and is working with several communities to create a new personal-care home.<\/p>\n
Aaron Moore, a University of Winnipeg political science professor, said he believes the planning region will lose \u201ca lot of its effectiveness\u201d with dwindled membership.<\/p>\n
New developments outside city limits could be poorly planned without a regional plan, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt starts off OK, but as more people move into a community, the limits of\u2026 infrastructure\u2026 become apparent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The now-cancelled WMR Plan 20-50 had sections protecting agricultural land and ensuring development happened on or near major routes, which would make it easier to service them, Moore said.<\/p>\n
Plan 20-50 was axed in December 2024 following some municipalities\u2019 concerns that it would undermine their decision-making powers.<\/p>\n
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Doug Ramsey, a Brandon University rural development professor, said he believes an \u201call or most-in endeavour\u201d is needed for the planning region to work.<\/p>\n
He predicts a lack of co-ordination will lead to further fragmentation of agricultural land, affecting farmers\u2019 jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not saying you can only take this parcel of land\u2026 and only have farming or only have housing. It\u2019s creating a plan that allows everything to co-exist \u2014 farming, living, recreation, tourism,\u201d Ramsey said.<\/p>\n
He expects the number of people seeking homes just outside Winnipeg \u2014 for larger lots and a perceived higher quality of life \u2014 will continue to grow as the city\u2019s population rises.<\/p>\n
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n
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Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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