Wednesday January 28 1998 a1
Water Plan OK expected
Aldo Santin
City wants capital-region talks with province before turning on tap
BY Aldo Santin
City Hall Reporter
City Council is expected to approve today a plan that could extend water and sewer services to four neighbouring communities.
But water will only flow to Headingley and three other communities until it has signed over a comprehensive land-use agreement with the province for the Winnipeg capital region. The agreement would cover economic development, land use, water supply, sewage, transportation, emergency and recreational services. “We want to be good neighbours and strengthen the capital region as a whole,” Mayor Susan Thompson said. “But we have to ensure the interests of Winnipegers are also served.”
Coun. Lillian Thomas said it doesn’t make sense for the city to agree to sell the water before the province agrees to discuss a development strategy for the capital region. “The mayor is saying the province has left her no option – I don’t think she’s heard the word no,” Thomas (Elmwood) said. “There’s no reason for us to knuckle under. We’re just being sold down the river.”
Coun. Harry Lazarenko (Mynarski) is also against the plan.
A2 Minister rejects calls for review
“We shouldn’t vote for anything until the province tells us what they’re doing.,” Lazarenko said. “This is a major shift in a utility owned and paid for by the citizens of Winnipeg. We shouldn’t do anything until the province gives us the answers we need.” But the controversial plan is expected to get the nine votes needed to pass when it comes before council today
Yesterday, Thompson and the six-member executive policy committee endorsed the plan, which would see the city sell 240,000 gallons of water daily to a regional authority. It would then be sold to Headingley and the rural municipalities of Cartier, St. Francis Xavier and Portage.
The city would also allow Headingley to pump its sewage into the city’s west end sewage treatment facilities, starting at 75,000 gallons per day. The deal would limit the amount of additional sewage treatment to five per cent each year. Headingley and the regional authority would be responsible for all construction costs for pipes connecting to the city’s systems.
Thompson told several people who opposed the plan before EPC yesterday that is, in fact, a victory. She has tried unsuccessfully for several years to persuade the province to develop policies that would allow rural communities to grow without hurting the city. “We have tried every which way to get the (Filmon) government to sit down and discuss the policy, but they won’t,” Thompson said. “They’ve refused.
The plan endorsed by Thompson and EPC would allow city staff to complete a deal with the Manitoba Water Services Board that would ultimately be brought back to council for final approval. The recommendation, which includes a provision that Headingley withdraw its proposal for a sewage lagoon near St. James, goes to council for approval today.
Ken Klassen, an engineering technologist whose research has led him to believe the province is providing Headingley with huge subsidies that will keep their taxes low and could cost the city $1 million in lost property taxes, said he doesn’t see how Thompson’s latest strategy will work. “What you have do is marshal public opinion,” Klassen said.
Meanwhile, Urban Affairs Minister Jack Reimer yesterday rejected opposition calls for an independent review of the water deal.
Reimer said there’s already been sufficient study and scrutiny of the issue through public hearings, written presentations and debate at the civic level.
The New Democrats want the decision put on hold and scrutinized by an independent panel, saying it favours several land developers, including prominent Tory supporters.
The Borger family, which owns Ladco-a Winnipeg-based development and building company-has had 162 hectares of land in the area for more than 50 years. The Borger family has donated more than $190,000 to the Tories over the last 10 years. “I think it is absolutely essential to remove any doubt as to whether the Borgers or Ladco have actually bought themselves a water deal through their donations to the Conservative party.” NDP urban affairs critic Becky Barrett said. She again accused Rural Development Minister Len Derkach of applying undue pressure on the city to approve the sale of water to Headingley, charging he’d engaged in “bullying and thuggery.” “The province’s heavy hand is forcing a decision on city council that I think most Winnipegers do not believe is in the city’s best interests,” she said.
Barrett said an independent review would ensure the decision is made on its merits alone, such as environmental implications and the long term impact on the City of Winnipeg.