We are less than eleven months away from what could be the most wide-open and most influential civic Winnipeg election in a generation. It’s too early to tell who is the mayoral favorite as there has only been one mayoral candidate declared with Shaun Loney. Even more so on the city council scene, as there has been the odd rumbling but no official announcements on who will run for any council seats.
So what will move people in less than eleven months? It’s not another property tax freeze, increasing the police budget, or calling insanity and fixing the same roads repeatedly. It’s not even rocket science, to be honest. But perhaps, real, long-lasting change will positively benefit this city long when I am long gone.
What am I talking about, real change? I am talking about turning the table of the status quo that has plagued our cities decision-making for years. I am talking about prioritizing tasks to help meet our climate change goals, reduce costs and make our city healthier.
Winnipeg, for far too long, has taken the cookie-cutter formulae of over-building roads. Consider the City of Winnipeg’s active transportation budget is a drop in the bucket compared to what roads are getting! We have a public transportation system struggling to recover from a pandemic, including another $10.6 million shortfall. In comparison, the police budget continues to balloon (taking up $320 million of the $1.195 billion Winnipeg operational budget). To make matters worse, At the same time, the only actual revenue streams we seem to only really find are either increasing bus fares $0.15 a year or modestly (and I mean a modest increase of 2.33%) of our cities property taxes. By the way, our property taxes will remain some of the lowest in Canada.
Add climate inaction and a police department facing a double whammy of low morale and distrust amongst many Winnipeggers, and you have some real problems that have been simmering to the top for a long time that could boil over soon.
As a tiny homeowner, I sincerely appreciate having a low property tax bill. However, I feel like we are cheating ourselves at addressing the real issues that will hit us like a tone of bricks within the next decade. We honestly can not keep the way we are going. We can’t keep building roads again and again. That would be the definition of insanity! We, as Winnipeggers, need to stop denying a falsehood that we can make our way out with roads in addressing real concerns. We can’t keep denying ourselves to freeze our property taxes without either essential cutting of services or new revenue streams. We can’t continue to say this city will battle climate change yet deny ourselves in supporting a rejuvenated Winnipeg Transit system backed by the Transportation Master Plan, along with a top-notch active transportation network for cyclists and pedestrians. Transportation makes up 50.5% of Winnipeg’s emissions. We need to prioritize what matters to us in this city. We cant keep denying the low morale of the Winnipeg Police force without acknowledging the racial and community concerns that faces Winnipegs finest.
A few good city councilors support these issues and believe in prioritizing to make our city healthier and livelier. However, we can always use more candidates who support putting people first and engage the electorate who may be afraid of change or cynical of past promises that never happened.
And guess what if you think running on such a platform that supports climate-ready infrastructure makes our police more community-oriented is not a winner? You’re mistaken.
In The Guardian, Janette Sadiq Khan and Seth Solomow recently said that supporting bike lanes is a winning issue at the ballot box. Ask mayoral candidates in Boston, Montreal, and Cincinnati. I can go on and on. I am sure that they can say that these issues helped get them elected with a resounding yes.
Winnipeg is known as being a stubborn city. However, I do believe given the pandemic, climate emergency, a demoralized police department, and looking for a clean slate of both Katz and Bowman, with good policy and candidates who can relate to voters, we may get the change we want.
It won’t be easy, as there will be resistance from some. The media has begun to mention possible “steady as they go candidates.” This is why it’s critical to get the vote out for councilors and mayoral candidates who push for real change. If the electorate does not get out to vote for changemaker candidates, then nothing will change. However, at the end of the day, if we want an efficient city that wants safe streets for all and addresses the climate emergency, we can not accept the status quo. An energetic electorate can rise above an apathetic electorate. After all, it’s not rocket science.
Adam M. Johnston, B.A. 
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