Winnipeg Minute: Police Helicopter, Snow Clearing, and Consumption Site Consultations

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

This Week In Winnipeg:

• There will be a Special Meeting of the Winnipeg Police Board this morning at 9:30 am. The Board will discuss the Preliminary 2025 Budget Update.
  
  
• The Executive Policy Committee will meet on Tuesday at 9:00 am. The Committee will discuss updates on supportive housing, addiction, and social action indicators, as well as programming and activities for Winnipeg 150. The Committee will also discuss customer service and wait time improvements for 311 services and review the 2023 Annual Report on French Language Services. Additionally, they will address appointments to various boards and the procurement of a new police helicopter through a lease-to-own contract. (More on the helicopter below!). On Wednesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a Special Meeting of the Executive Policy Committee to discuss the 2025 budget.
  
  
• Also on Wednesday, at 12:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Climate Action and Resilience Committee. The agenda includes the Committee’s 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Work Plan. Concurrently, the Winnipeg Committee for Safety will meet. Their agenda includes a discussion about 2025 meeting dates, and the 2025 Work Plan. The Executive Policy Committee will have another Special Meeting on Friday at 9:30 am. No agenda is available for this meeting yet, but it is likely a continuation of Wednesday's budget discussion.

Last Week In Winnipeg:

• Consultations have begun in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood regarding the proposed supervised drug consumption site at 200 Disraeli Fwy. Community members, including some uninvited residents, attended a meeting to discuss the site, with varying views. Despite criticism over the consultation process, Housing and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith assured residents that safety would be prioritized, with further consultations, including a town hall, planned in the coming weeks.
  
  
• It was revealed that the City is looking at replacing its current police helicopter, Air 1, which has served Winnipeg for 14 years. A new Airbus H125, estimated to cost $13.5 million, could be leased for approximately $900,000 per year over 15 years, with maintenance costs included in the lease. Police Board Chair Markus Chambers supports the lease-to-own option, noting it would be more cost-effective than owning the current helicopter. Mayor Scott Gillingham emphasized the police helicopter’s role in public safety, while also suggesting that drone technology be explored for future use. If approved, the new helicopter would be operational by 2027.
  
  
• The City has decided to cancel a pilot program that proposed changing the snow-clearing threshold for residential streets from 10 cm to 15 cm. Mayor Scott Gillingham and Councillor Janice Lukes both emphasized the importance of maintaining the current snow clearing standards in response to public feedback. Although the pilot is being halted, the City will continue reviewing ways to improve snow clearing operations and manage costs. Speaking of managing costs, about that helicopter…