Kinew rules out safe-injection site for Brandon

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This article was published 23/12/2023 (689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As part of his year-end interview schedule with media, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew took some time on Thursday afternoon to speak with Brandon Sun editor Matt Goerzen. Their conversation, which touched on mostly western Manitoba issues, follows below. It has been edited for length and clarity.

MG — Well, we might as well get right into it since we only have 10 minutes. So back in August, you promised to spend up to a million dollars to rebuild the Park Community Centre here in Brandon with a new child-care facility. Since the election, have you met with the city on this issue? And if so, how far along are those discussions?

WK — It’s pretty early on, we’re still looking at the overall financial situation. As you know, we’ve inherited a pretty serious fiscal challenge. But the Park Community Centre Project is still a priority for us. And so we hope to be able to talk to the city and I guess just the community members who are passionate about this project to get the ball rolling.

MG — Well, has anything changed? I know the $1.6-billion deficit that was (previously) announced. And I also see this week that there has been more federal transfers coming in — $840 million, I believe was the number. How will that be used? Will that be used to pay down the debt? Or is that going to be used in some other way?

WK — So that amount is pretty much in the ballpark of what we were expecting. Meaning that when you look at the financial forecast for the province going forward into the future, it doesn’t really change the existing numbers that we were looking at, meaning it doesn’t really change the scale of the challenge. So the deficit number is still the deficit number that we need to wrangle with. So certainly, more federal transfer payments are welcome. But this doesn’t change the fact that we have a serious deficit problem left to us by the Stefanson administration, and we’re gonna have to make a lot of important decisions about really taking a balanced approach to fixing that issue.

MG — Going back to the fact that you had made some promises to keep your election promises, including more sustainable and reliable funding for municipalities back at the AMM conference earlier this fall. Is that something you can actually still manage to do considering the financial situation identified by the NDP?

WK — Yeah, it’s gonna be essential that we still work with municipalities and ensure that there’s no funding freeze, as they saw for seven years in the past. Reason being, the only way we’re going to work our way out of a deficit of this magnitude that was handed to us by the previous administration is by taking a balanced approach. Which means we have to balance not only looking at the revenue and expenditure picture, but we also have to look at growing the economy. And municipalities are going to use resources in a way that does contribute to the economy. They’re going to be putting people to work delivering snow clearing and grading and other services. They are going to be investing in local infrastructure, which creates construction jobs. So really, we may not be able to make the huge influx of dollars that I’m sure you know, municipal leaders would hope for every year. But we still are going to deliver an incremental increase in funding because we know that it’s necessary for us to continue growing the economy, which will help to meet the needs of the average Manitoban, but also helps with the overall deficit picture, ensuring that there’s people put to work.

MG — So you’re basically saying that the municipality shouldn’t expect a windfall. However, the purse strings are open. Essentially.

WK — The funding freeze is over. We’re going to, as part of that decision, now invite municipal leaders in to have a look at the province’s books, and we’re going to ask the question, ‘what can we do together?’ You know, these leaders have some great insights into how you can deliver services, how you can be creative in terms of solving problems. And so we’ll work together. And yeah, the current fiscal challenge left by the PCs means that it’s not going to be, you know, a double digit increase for municipalities by any means. But it’s not going to be a freeze either. So we’ll collaborate, we’ll work together to figure out an appropriate level of investment to make sure that we can keep growing the economy.

MG — On that note, one municipality in particular, obviously, our City of Brandon … last week the general manager was calling upon the province and the federal government to pay their fair share in the effort to dig the Wheat City out of a financial hole. Now, this was in concert with the release of a 10-year sustainability report by MNP that suggests we need steep property tax increases and higher fees to maintain our current level of services, operations, infrastructure, you name it. Is the province prepared to bail out the City of Brandon? And if so, what would that look like?

WK — I think we’ll need to work together with the City of Brandon. Because I don’t want to see people living in Brandon deal with huge tax increases. I want life to be affordable. At the same time, I want appropriate level of service. So there’s probably going to be a lot of back-and-forth conversations and creative problem-solving chats we have with Mayor Fawcett and other leaders to come up with an approach that’s balanced. And that works for people in Westman.

MG — So the province though isn’t gonna leave the City of Brandon hanging. I mean, part of the problem here is that — the criticism by MNP was that previous councils had not been raising taxes high enough, not even to inflation levels. Is there an onus on the city itself to get its act together?

WK — Well, I think one of the contributing factors is that the Stefanson-Pallister governments froze funding to municipalities like Brandon for many years. And so we’re not going to repeat that mistake. So in addition to being an important funder for the City of Brandon, we’re also going to be a partner. And so I take it very seriously that there’s a challenge here. And we want to be part of a solution that helps to keep life affordable for people in Brandon, but also make sure that there’s those services and infrastructure investments made to meet your needs.

MG — This week, we learned that your government is suspending many new health-care capital projects, including some personal care homes that have already been announced in rural Manitoba and Winnipeg. While you’re reviewing the province’s finances, are there any such projects in Brandon that are in danger of being cut or potentially suspended indefinitely as a result of current note tightening at the moment?

WK — Hang on a second. Yeah, just make a quick double check. None of the projects are in Brandon.

MG — No … however …

WK — What I would say about them is that the PCs never had a plan to pay for these PCHs that they announced. The money was not set aside through the formal Treasury Board or formal budgetary process. And so these are empty promises that gave false hope to people, made by the Stefanson administration. So our team — we’re serious about health care, absolutely. And we’re serious about investing in seniors care. So these facilities will get built. But we’re going to have to be creative in terms of figuring out when and how we can put the financing together to build these personal care homes within the context of us inheriting a $1.6-billion deficit.

MG — I understand. I simply meant that aside from these projects, is there anything else beyond the scope of this suspension that the province is looking at? Anything in western Manitoba and even in Brandon itself, beyond this announcement this past week, that the province is having a look at?

WK — The Brandon hospital project is going to proceed. That is something that we’re committed to following through on, something that I think was a priority for us throughout the campaign. And so now that we’re in government, it continues to be a priority. Basically, the difference is that the financing for the Brandon hospital campus redevelopment is in place. So that project can move ahead. But it’s personal care homes that have been in the media. There was never a plan by the PCs to pay for them. And so that’s why we’re now having to say that we need to figure out a creative solution here that’s going to allow us to invest in seniors’ care, but respect the fact that our provincial purse has been severely compromised by the outgoing PC government.

MG — I see. I only have maybe one minute left here. So I’ll ask one more question. We’re aware that the province is considering a safe-injection site for the City of Winnipeg. That (idea) has also been talked about here in Brandon, and the need for one. Is the province looking at one for Brandon as well? And if so, is there any kind of timeline?

WK — No, no, we’re not looking at one for Brandon. We’re looking at one in Winnipeg. And even there, we’re going to be taking our time with it. It’s going to be very important to carry out the necessary consultations and think carefully about location because, you know, we want to do this in the right way. And we also want to do it as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat any addictions and homelessness and some of the social issues in downtown Winnipeg. So I think it’s contextual. And the argument makes sense in Winnipeg. But I think the solutions for the challenges that Brandon is seeing, when it comes to addictions and mental health and homelessness, are more about making sure the sobering centre that’s been announced multiple times actually gets brought online. It’s bringing in some more creative approaches to housing and ensuring that there’s a next step for people to get off of the street, or out of a tent. And that we ensure that there’s the appropriate level of mental health services for Brandon, but also for the Westman region. I don’t need to explain to readers of The Brandon Sun that often, you know, people have to drive hours from, you know, Virden or Boissevain in order to be seen by a specialist or clinician.

MG — On the subject of Gaza refugees, you’ve come out and told the federal government Manitoba would be open to housing those coming into Canada for safety reasons. And obviously, they’re in danger. Considering the housing shortage we’re facing, have you given any thought to how the province would find residences for them, and is the province prepared to help that along?

WK — Yeah, I think there’s a lot of dynamics that are at play. There’s a national security lens. There’s many community organizations that are willing to step in and offer supports, including help with things like housing. There’s the question of, you know, the province standing up a response. But at the end of the day, this is about a humanitarian need. I think, no matter which community you come from in Manitoba, you’re at some point, your ancestors probably had to contend with starvation. And when we see a group of people in the world right now facing starvation, I think that that shared history that we all have compels us to want to respond in a compassionate way. So there’s many logistical issues that would need to be worked on with this. I’ve written to the prime minister on it, I’ve spoken to him directly about it. And the offer is basically that if the federal government brings people here from Gaza, in the name of humanitarian aid, and in the name of compassion, then Manitoba will help with that effort.

MG — Are we the only province to do so?

WK — Yes, to my knowledge we are anyway, so I stand to be corrected.

MG — That answers my questions at the moment unless you want to tell me if you’re taking any holidays this year.

WK — (Laughs) I’m doing an army crawl towards Friday and then look towards spending a lot of good time with family.

MG — You going out of province?

WK — No, not … well, actually we might go to northwestern Ontario for a few days. But yeah, we’ll be staying close to home and actually, I’ll probably spend New Year’s Day in Westman.

MG — Well look us up if you’re in town.

WK — Sounds good. Happy holidays!