Manitoba moves to make it harder to quash municipal land-use decisions

Manitoba's NDP government introduced legislation Wednesday to curb the number of City of Winnipeg land-use decisions that get quashed by the provincially appointed municipal board.

Bill 40 would increase the number of signatures required to trigger a municipal board hearing over a city council decision in Winnipeg — and other municipalities with more than 6,000 people — from 25 to 300.

People opposed to land-use decisions in municipalities with fewer than 6,000 people would require 100 signatures, or the support of five per cent of the population, to trigger a municipal board hearing.

The proposed changes follow complaints from Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham, former mayor Brian Bowman and a number of city councillors about expanded powers granted to the municipal board by the former Progressive Conservative government.

While former premier Brian Pallister lauded those expanded powers as ensuring more development can proceed, Gillingham and his colleagues argued it ended up having the opposite effect.

"It slows development. It slows housing," Gillingham said Wednesday at city hall, welcoming the new provincial legislation.

"There were projects, as a councillor, I approved that would have been transformative. With a small number of signatories, that matter went to the municipal board and the municipal board overturned them."

One of those projects was a housing development city council approved on Roblin Road in Charleswood in February 2022. The municipal board overturned that approval in November of that year on the basis of 25 presentations from opponents.

Ian Bushie, the NDP minister of municipal and northern relations, said no particular decision led to the new legislation.

"Overall, municipalities want to develop more housing," Bushie said at the Manitoba Legislative Building, explaining this change is a prelude to a wider provincial review of municipal planning.

The Association of Manitoba Municipalities also welcomed the legislation as an "initial step" toward raising the threshold required to trigger a municipal board hearing.

Kathy Valentino, the association's interim president, said the change will "reduce unnecessary costs and delays, but also help restore greater municipal autonomy."