Kinew government to allow municipalities to opt out of Winnipeg Metro Region

Manitoba's NDP government plans to allow municipalities to opt out of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region — a move that could weaken or even scuttle an effort to standardize land use rules in and around the provincial capital.

Premier Wab Kinew said his government will introduce legislation this fall that will permit members of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region — an area comprised of the Manitoba capital and 17 surrounding municipalities — to withdraw from the region.

By extension, that would allow those municipalities to opt out of Plan 20-50, a regional planning framework created to end a patchwork of rules and regulations among the cities, towns and rural municipalities in the Winnipeg area.

No fewer than five of those municipalities have expressed concerns with the planning framework on the basis it would reduce their autonomy to make land use decisions and increase costs for municipalities.

Some, like the City of Selkirk, expressed a desire to opt out of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. Others, like the Town of Niverville, asked the province to amend the proposed plan or scrap it altogether.

As well, the leaders of multiple municipalities, including some who supported the regional planning process, said they received vociferous complaints about aspects of the plan that do not exist, apparently fuelled by false claims on social media.

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Kinew said Tuesday his government will remedy the situation by bringing in a "freedom bill" this fall to amend what he described as a decision imposed on Winnipeg-area municipalities by former Progressive Conservative premiers Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson.

"This is a Pallister-Stefanson special, so we're going to bring freedom back to the equation. We're going to allow these locally elected municipal officials to represent their ratepayers, to represent their constituents," Kinew said in an interview.

"After taking some time and looking at the situation, we think it's an important step to return that power to locally elected, democratic officials instead of trying to centralize everything like the previous PC government."

In a statement issued Monday, the current PC Opposition urged the Kinew government to delay implementation of Plan 20-50.

City of Selkirk chief administrative officer Duane Nicol, who has expressed concerns about the plan since it was first proposed by the Pallister government in 2019, said he is pleased with the Kinew government's decision.

"This is a good opportunity, a good option for those who would like to go in a different direction," he said in an interview. "There can still be a group for voluntary participation and working together."

Jennifer Freeman, executive director of the provincially appointed body responsible for co-ordination in the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, told CBC News the Kinew government had not made her aware of a plan to introduce legislation that would allow municipalities to leave the region.

She later said her executive committee looks forward to working with the province to "understand the new direction."

"We respect the province's authority in shaping policy and appreciate that changes may occur to align with broader priorities," she said in a Tuesday evening statement on behalf of the committee.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham expressed concern, saying potential investors in the Winnipeg region have complained about too many different land use and development rules among municipalities in the provincial capital region.

This, he said, leaves Winnipeg at risk of falling behind other metropolitan areas when it comes to attracting businesses.

"We need better collaboration between the province, rural municipalities, and the city. If we don't get serious about co-operation, other regions — like Calgary, Minneapolis or even Saskatoon — will eat our lunch," Gillingham said in a statement.

"Manitobans want to know all levels of government are working together, not against each other — whether it's through an amended capital region plan or a different agreement."

Selkirk CAO Nicol doesn't believe that's necessary.

"Every municipality, their development plans must be approved by the minister. So I think the province has the tools already to encourage and to actually enforce better planning on both sides of a municipal boundary," he said.

Manitoba municipalities have also complained about a different Pallister-government initiative that has been imposed on municipalities: the decision to allow the unelected municipal board, a provincial body, to reverse land use decisions made by cities, towns and municipalities.

Kinew said his government is still reviewing the expanded powers granted to the municipal board but has not yet come to a decision about it.