Winnipeg Labour Council

Public Opposes Recommendations of EOC

The Winnipeg Labour Council and the Canadian Labour Congress held a series of town hall meetings from February 23 through March 3 to give the citizens of Winnipeg an opportunity to learn more about and discuss the recommendations that were put forward by the Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC). A key feature of those recommendations was that the city cut $56 million in business taxes.

Left to right - David Sauer, Professor Christopher Leo, Professor Ian Hudson and WLC President Larry Pelzer were among those available to answer questions at the meetings.

A total of eight town hall meetings were held throughout the five community areas of the city. City Councillors were invited and made aware of the process. Some attended town halls in their wards along with local MLAs while others did not. Overall, approximately 400 people attended the meetings.

Independent researchers provided initial information around the issues and were available to answer questions from citizens. Recorders were also present at each meeting in order to track the individualized concerns raised throughout the city and enabled a greater analysis of converging trends of civic response.

The people who came to the town hall meetings shared their concerns, criticisms, and potential visions for a city that would listen to its electorate. Instead of embracing the Economic Opportunity Commission report, person after person raised concerns over the unfairness of tax distribution, hidden future costs of private-public partnerships, and the lack of transparency and citizen engagement with City Hall. Winnipeg citizens desire to be heard but had not previously had input because there is not an open avenue for debate and discussion within the current bureaucratic structure that is City Hall and its civic leaders

Comments made at the town hall meetings made it clear that citizens may not like paying taxes but understand that it is necessary to provide the social structure of civic services. Their greater concern is the potential unfairness of reducing business taxes at a time where there is a tightening of available revenue streams.

They understand it may be time to investigate increasing taxes that have been frozen over the last decade in order to address the required services that citizens expect and demand. They are vehemently opposed to reducing business taxes in fiscally difficult times that may coincidentally require a property tax increase. This is seen as simply shifting the tax burden away from businesses and more onto citizens.

Donna MacDonald served as moderator at the public meetings

Most people who attended the meetings were unaware that there was a greater shift toward public-private partnerships. Once cognisant, they were dismayed that civic leaders would use such projects. Concerns included that the city could negotiate a lower interest rate through self-financing, third party involvement decreases civic ownership and control over its services, and the inability to effectively and openly review the proposals under current legislation.

Winnipeg citizens do not want to burden future generations with increased deferred debt. They are also opposed to these partnerships as they see that the increased tax revenues required to pay these inflated debt costs is nothing more than another attempt to transfer civic wealth from citizens to private enterprises.

Overall there was a concern that City Hall was neither listening to its citizens nor providing accessible paths to acquire their input. The convoluted process of the civic budget allows for minimal debate and opportunity for citizen engagement with their elected officials.

There is a sense that this may be purposeful in an attempt to maintain status quo power by business leaders within the civic government. There was a continued request to determine how to make citizen voices relevant, even if it required a greater search and campaigning for potential candidates that would represent and listen to everyday citizens.

Citizens reject the proposals presented within the Economic Opportunity Commission. They understand the hurdles of taxes being frozen for over a decade and are willing to pay their fair share. They do not want to see their civic services sold out from underneath them as this will only cause consternation for future generations.

They see both public-private partnerships and business tax cuts as a transfer of their public assets to private interests. They reject this ideology and are willing to participate in civic actions in order to reverse this trend and look to the future for truly visionary leaders.