Selkirk wants out of Capital Planning Region
The City of Selkirk wants to leave the Capital Planning Region.
City council voted on Monday to file the request to Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard. A new law that allows municipalities to opt out of the plan took effect last week.
'I don't feel that the Capital Planning Region is the right fit for us,' Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson said on Wednesday. 'We have to make our own municipal decisions because that's what we're elected to do.'
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson said the city is choosing to leave the Capital Planning Region in order to make its own municipal decisions.
Selkirk was among a handful of municipalities concerned about the lack of autonomy and decision-making in the Plan 20-50. The plan established a 30-year road map for Winnipeg and 17 municipalities, and dictated everything from land use to recreation. It was created by Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, which operates under the provincial Capital Planning Region.
Johannson said Selkirk officials had wanted to leave the planning region since its creation in 2023.
Selkirk needs to have the freedom to make its own land-use plan and form partnerships with different municipalities, he said.
Jennifer Freeman, the executive director of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, said she respects Selkirk's decision to leave.
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Progress on Plan 20-50 halted after the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region voted in December to end public hearings.
'The provincial government has been clear that regional planning remains a priority and our mandate then continues,' said Freeman. 'Our focus is moving forward with those at the table and supporting informed, co-ordinated planning for the region.'
She said the organization is resetting its planning approach to address the concerns raised by municipalities and board members.
The Winnipeg Metropolitan Region is required to submit a new regional plan to the province by Jan. 1, 2027, and development is underway, said Freeman.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca
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Winnipeg Free Press
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Canada Standard
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