Tories pledge Sportsplex, downtown safety funds

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/09/2023 (922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On the eve of Brandon’s only provincial leaders’ debate, Heather Stefanson and the Progressive Conservatives promised millions in funding for downtown safety and the Sportsplex should they remain in power.

Standing on Rosser Avenue near the Brandon Chamber of Commerce building in the morning, Stefanson said the party she leads would expand the Downtown Community Safety Partnership in Winnipeg to Brandon with $2 million in funding to get it up and running.

Then, in the afternoon, Stefanson said the province would provide $5 million in funding toward renovations in the works for Brandon’s Community Sportsplex.

“The DCSP model reduces strain on police and 911 resources by providing a community-focused non-emergency response system and it provides non-emergency response to individuals in need with 24-7 community presence and availability,” Stefanson said during the morning announcement.

“This model is centred on a proactive, culturally appropriate and community focused long-term solution to dealing with homelessness, crime and addictions in a downtown core and it’s common sense to expand it to our second-largest city in Manitoba.”

Stefanson asserted hers is the only party that will defend, not defund, the police despite promises from the Manitoba NDP to hire more police officers should they form government.

The Tories’ candidate for Brandon West, former Brandon Police Service chief Wayne Balcaen, said he had toured the facilities associated with the program in Winnipeg while still in the position and had thought it “would be an excellent initiative to have in Brandon.”

The current acting Chief, Randy Lewis, said during the announcement that his colleagues at the Winnipeg Police Service have assured BPS that the program has been successful.

“We’re going to see benefits that are going to range far and wide across our downtown area,” Lewis said. “We’re going to have teams responding to non-emergency non-violent community safety concerns.”

He said the initiative would free up officers to focus more on police-related work.

Monday’s announcement did not include annual funding to keep the program going once established. Stefanson said that once it is established, her government would work closely with the community to see what the needs are going forward.

The goal, she said, would be to establish the program as quickly as possible after the election.

The program, Balcaen said, would add to programming BPS and the province have already put in place.

“We’ve got our downtown community safety officers, we have our business liaison officer, we’ve increased our foot patrols down here to uniformed officers, we’ve increased having community cadets, funding for community mobilization … funding to the Bear Clan, funding to Samaritan House, Blue Door, all of these areas that have impact on our community,” Balcaen said.

Reached by text message, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the city would be “very supportive” of the program being established locally.

“We have met with staff of DCSP and have been taking a serious look at how to implement it in Brandon,” Fawcett wrote.

Standing in front of the Sportsplex with members of the ACC Cougars women’s hockey team and Brandon-area candidates in the afternoon, Stefanson said the $5 million her government promises to provide would help the facility remain a destination for Brandon families to lead active and healthy lifestyles for years to come.

This announcement and a promise to invest $100 million into the Arts, Culture and Sport in Culture grant program, Stefanson said, are part of her party’s plan to continue growing Manitoba from a “have not” province to a “have province” — something she claimed wouldn’t be possible if the NDP form government.

She said the funding is not contingent on any matching funds from the City of Brandon and will not have restrictions on what aspects of upgrades at the Sportsplex it can be used for.

Though he no longer represents the area that’s home to the Sportsplex, Brandon East candidate Len Isleifson said a number of residents reached out to him after the facility’s ice plant was closed earlier this year due to safety concerns.

At last week’s Brandon City Council meeting, it was decided after months of public consultation that the city would proceed with replacement of the ice plant and perform other quality of life upgrades at the facility.

“We will work together to ensure that our winter sports season is a successful one,” Isleifson said.

An NDP spokesperson wrote in an email that the Progressive Conservatives have been unsuccessful at dealing with crime.

“Crime continues to rise under Heather Stefanson’s watch, while the PCs have done nothing to stop it. They have no real plan for after the election, except more cuts. Manitobans deserve to feel safe in their communities.”

On the Sportsplex, the spokesperson questioned the Tories’ commitment to maintaining community centres.

“The PCs cut funding to municipalities for seven years and refused to rebuild the Park Community Centre. Our Manitoba NDP team will rebuild the Park Community Centre with a new child-care centre, improve health care in Westman and lower costs for families.”

In a statement, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont criticized the PCs’ record on municipal funding.

“The PCs have froze funding for municipalities and various services that have made crime and community safety exponentially worse while in office for the past seven years,” Lamont wrote in an email. “Manitobans won’t be fooled by these last-minute announcements in their desperate attempt to get re-elected.”

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» X: @ColinSlark