Kinew, Gillingham meet, say homelessness top priority

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This article was published 10/10/2023 (953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s mayor and Manitoba’s premier-designate promised to unite to tackle homelessness after their first post-election meeting.

“On the top of both of our lists, here in Winnipeg, is addressing homelessness… and addiction. We both share a view that a co-ordinated approach is critical,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said Tuesday.

Premier-designate Wab Kinew agreed homelessness is a top priority.

“I think we’re both committed to moving the ball forward there,” Kinew said. “I think everyone in Manitoba recognizes that we can do better than what we’re seeing right now. We drive by bus shelters (with people living in them). We drive by people living in tents and I think nobody in Manitoba wants to see that.”

Kinew’s NDP promised to end chronic homelessness in eight years.

Meanwhile, Kinew said his government won’t freeze municipal funding and would provide “a multi-year funding picture to municipalities.” He did not say how much more funding would be added or whether the province will consider designating a share of growth revenue to municipalities, such as a portion of provincial sales tax or income tax earnings, as Gillingham has requested.

Kinew described the city’s $2.336-billion North End sewage treatment plant upgrade as a “needed infrastructure investment” but said it’s too soon to commit a specific amount of money for that or other city projects.

“I think we all recognize that this project needs to get done. I think that the appropriate place for a lot of these deliberations would be behind closed doors for us to understand the various requirements and the financing pieces necessary to come together,” he said.

The bill for the biosolids facilities project (the second part of the three-phase upgrade) recently jumped $482.3 million higher, leading Gillingham to formally ask the provincial and federal governments to increase their funding for the work.

The premier-designate also met with Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Kam Blight and Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett. 

“I was pleased to speak with Mr. Blight about the importance of health care and infrastructure investments, solutions for rural crime, and ensuring rural voices are heard at the table,” Kinew said in a statement released late in the day. 

“I was also pleased to speak with Mayor Fawcett to discuss the role Brandon and the Westman region play in Manitoba’s economy and our commitment to support the agricultural sector. We also spoke about our shared priority of addressing chronic homelessness and drug trafficking in Brandon.”

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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