The ambitious plan for a more united Winnipeg Metropolitan Region might be finished before it even got started.
The province announced Wednesday that it intends to introduce legislation allowing municipalities and cities to opt out of Plan 20-50.
The initiative — which sets out proposed guidelines as to how the City of Winnipeg, surrounding communities and rural municipalities can work together as the region continues to grow — has proven controversial.
A public meeting on the issue in Niverville, Man., earlier this month, was shut down due to overwhelming attendance, and what organizers said were some misconceptions about the plan’s goals.
In a statement Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew said the move was to give individual municipalities the freedom to make their own decisions.
“We’ve heard what municipalities have to say, and that’s why we’re moving forward with legislation to make membership in Plan 20-50 voluntary,” Kinew said.
“We’re working with communities like Selkirk, Niverville, and Stonewall to grow the economy, and build more housing in a way that makes sense for them.”
Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson, who has been outspoken about the project since day one, told 680 CJOB’s The Start that he’s not opposed to Plan 20-50’s existence, but it wasn’t right for Selkirk.
“We were the first municipality, the first city, to request out of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, out of Plan 20-50,” Johannson said. “We are not part of that region. We are our own region.
“We’ve never been against what 20-50 could do for some. The biggest part that we’ve been saying is that it’s not for us.”
Johannson said he’s thankful for the provincial government’s change of heart, and gives the province credit for the way it has dealt with the controversial project, which began under the previous government.
“They inherited this mess. It was dropped in their lap from the previous government … and I credit them. They gave it time, they took a good look at it, and then they started to listen to the municipalities.”
Municipal Relations Minister Ian Bushie said more details on what the changes will look like will be shared once the legislation is introduced.