Winnipeg Minute: Issue 121

Winnipeg Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Winnipeg politics

📅 This Week In Winnipeg: 📅

• Winnipeg has begun tearing down the century-old Arlington Bridge, as Mayor Scott Gillingham removed the first section at a news conference. City Council approved the $17-million project to decommission and remove the bridge, which spans more than 50 sets of active railway tracks, in 2025. The work will proceed in two phases: the first, expected to last about six months, will take down the south portion, with the north side near Dufferin Avenue coming down next year. No vehicles have crossed the bridge since November 2023, when a study found it was in poor condition and could not be repaired or rebuilt on its existing foundation, and traffic has since been rerouted onto Salter and McPhillips Streets. Council set aside $5 million in January 2025 to design a replacement, but construction funding has not been determined and will be considered later, with the City expecting the province and Ottawa to share the cost. Gillingham said building a new bridge is expected to take four to five years once funding is in place.
  
  
• Winnipeg City Council has approved a motion from Mayor Scott Gillingham to expand the City's needle and debris cleanup program to more public spaces over the next five months, including transit shelters, civic plazas and community centre grounds. A two-person crew set up in April 2025 had been visiting 16 downtown sites, and a December report recorded 6,358 needles and 177 weapons collected by October. The expansion would be funded largely by reallocating $206,250 that went unspent after the N'Dinawemak 24/7 Safe Space shelter on Disraeli Freeway closed in April, money the City is redirecting into a new Enhanced Public Space Program. Gillingham said families and transit riders should not have to contend with discarded needles, though he did not specify which areas the expanded cleanup will cover or whether more staff would be hired. Councillor Sherri Rollins, who seconded the motion, said the move is an improvement but that the City still needs a coordinated public safety framework, including a possible fourth emergency response service, to address the drug crisis.
  
  
• On a related public-safety front, a group of West End businesses is calling on the Winnipeg Police Service to extend a recent 10-day sweep targeting open drug use in the Sherbrook and Maryland area. In an open letter, the West End BIZ pointed to escalating violence, robberies and daytime stabbings, and said threats against employees dropped noticeably during the operation. Mayor Scott Gillingham said he supports renewed enforcement, adding that residents he spoke to while door-knocking had voiced appreciation for the crackdown. Winnipeg police said they are still reviewing the operation's outcomes and community impact and have not decided whether to continue it or release its results. Outreach groups have raised concerns that the sweep did more harm than good for people struggling with addictions and homelessness, though Gillingham argued the City can be compassionate and uphold the law at the same time.
  
  
• Winnipeg City Council has voted unanimously to put $3 million toward a $6-million skywalk linking the forthcoming Sutton Place Hotel to the RBC Convention Centre, on condition that the province covers the other half. The City's share is a $2-million grant plus $1 million in future tax revenue from the hotel, and it hinges on the developer, Northland Properties, maintaining and operating the connection. The $140-million, 352-room hotel dates back to the convention centre's 2012 expansion but stalled for years after an early developer walked away in 2015, leaving the city to cover an $8-million debt through accommodation taxes. A report to Council claims the completed hotel would generate $3 million a year in provincial tax revenue, plus $340,000 in property taxes and $500,000 in accommodation taxes for the City annually. Premier Wab Kinew's office did not confirm whether the Province will pay its half, and the developer would not say when the hotel will open.
  
  
• Two Winnipeg Councillors want the City to study tougher rules for owners of vacant and derelict buildings, which have drawn frequent complaints. Councillors Cindy Gilroy and Sherri Rollins are behind a motion directing staff to look at a mandatory property maintenance licence, carrying an annual fee, regular inspections and a requirement that owners prove ongoing upkeep, along with escalating fines for repeat bylaw violations. Rollins said some owners currently treat fines as a cost of doing business without ever bringing properties into compliance, and described the proposed licence as a “tough-as-nails” approach. She acknowledged the changes would come at a cost, including new enforcement staff, and the motion asks for options to recover those costs from owners. The motion goes to Council's September meeting, and Mayor Scott Gillingham, who has not fully reviewed it, noted any staff report would land well after the October 28th municipal election.

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