True North Square and the adjacent Sutton Place Hotel could be in line to receive millions of dollars of public money.
Normally, tax revenue from downtown projects is reinvested in public works for the area, known as tax increment financing.
Government funding can be used for public spaces or road improvements.
However, some of the nearly $12 million could be going directly into the construction of the highrises.
When it comes to exactly how much public funding is being used for True North Square and Sutton Place Hotel, municipal affairs minister Jeff Wharton didn’t provide any specific numbers despite being asked numerous times by 680 CJOB’s Richard Cloutier.
“We’re excited about today… this is already a great announcement for Winnipeg and Manitoba. We’re looking forward to better things to come,” said Wharton.
The director of the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg, Jino Distasio, said tax increment financing has been used beforehand for more than 1,000 condos downtown.
“It’s been used as a strategy for just over a decade so I’m not too surprised that money is potentially flowing back to enhance that project,” said Distasio.
“It would be good to get the numbers so we can have a discussion about where exactly the funds are going.”
The prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Todd MacKay, said he’s filing a freedom of information request to find out exactly how much money is involved.
“Taxpayers are going to get this answer. The question is whether the minister is going to be proactive about it and get that answer out or whether he’s going to see it in a press release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,” said MacKay.
“Either way, taxpayers are going to find out what’s going on with this money.”
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