Provincial budget does no re-election favours for Winnipeg's mayor

If Brian Bowman wins a second term asmayor, there areat least two people he won'tthankwhen the balloons and confetti descend upon his podium.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Finance Minister Cameron Friesen did Bowman absolutely zero favours with a provincial budget that ignored the only two tangible requests made by Winnipeg's mayor.

For months, Bowman has been pleading for the province to sign on to a federal-funding request that could allow Winnipeg to access $182 million in road renewal money.

• Winnipeg prioritizes road renewals over major projects with new federal funding wish list
• Construction Association raising red flags about mayor's infrastructure plan

The federal funding windowexpires at the end of the month. The mayor has tried to sell the request on the basis the province won't have to spend any more money on Winnipeg's roads in the coming year than it did last year.

Unfortunately for Bowman, the 2018-19 provincial budget unveiled by Pallister and Friesenon Mondaymakes no mention of this funding.

No re-election help for Mayor in provincial budget

7 years ago

Duration 1:26

Mayor Brian Bowman went to the Manitoba Legislature on budget day to learn whether the province would grant his funding wishes. Things didn't turn out the way he had hoped.

What it does include is a 30 per cent cut to the provincial highways program, which amounts to a $152-million cut in capital spending on roads.

That matters to Winnipeg because it demonstrates thisprovincial government doesn't share Ottawa's passion forKeynesian economicson steroids that is, high levels ofinfrastructure spending on a permanent basis, rather than only for a little while to stimulate the economy.

On Monday,Friesenmade this clearwhen he said the previousNDP government had no economic rationale for its infrastructure spending.

"It just went up in an unsustainable way. In the timesince we took government, we realized there really was no fundamental, comprehensive plan for that infrastructure amount," he said. "So clearly, over time, we have to turn it back."

Since Manitoba plans to spend less on its own highways, Bowman would be naive to expect the province to offer Winnipeg the same level of funding for road renewals as it received last year. This is simple logic.

'Follow our lead' on spending: Bowman

The mayor hada stronger basis for his second big requestthe reinstatement of a provincial deal to cover halfof Winnipeg Transit's operating costs that are not covered by bus fares.

The creation of acarbon tax suggests Manitoba is serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One tangible way to to do that is to improve public transit to a level where more Winnipeggers actuallyget out of their cars and take the bus instead.

But the province has no interest in supporting Winnipeg Transit, aside from a pledge to replace some diesel buses with electric vehicles.

Friesen, however, dismissed the suggestion it's illogical to try to reduce busemissions in a budget that doesn't offer Winnipeg Transit enough money to retain existing service levels.

To the finance minister, how much money Winnipeg spends on transit is no different than any other funding decision the city makes with a pot of provincial money that's been frozen at 2016 levels.

"We are asking the City of Winnipeg to do what we as a province are doing, and that is to manage well. The City of Winnipeg has choices to make about its expenditures," Friesen said.

That was nothing short of a provocation to the mayor, given thatthe City of Winnipeg is required to balance its budget every year unlike the province.

"I've balanced four budgets," Bowman said with a smile on his face.

"Our expenditure growth in this year's budget is 1.2 per cent. The province is more than double our expenditure growth, so I think we have a lot we can teach the province, if they follow our lead."

Tory strategy clear

This exchange between the mayor and the finance ministerexemplifiesthe provincial funding strategy for not just Winnipeg, but most of Manitoba's municipalities, school boards, Crown corporationsand regional health authorities.

The province provides flat funding, which amounts to a de facto cut when you factor in inflationarycost increases. That leaves the tough task of deciding precisely what to cut to the other entities, including city hall in Winnipeg.

"We're not going to drill down in every line," said Friesen, freely admitting the obvious.

Clearly, Winnipeg's mayor ought not to expect any help from Pallister and Friesen. But the mayor also should not expect the province to simply roll over and do his bidding becauseWinnipeg is the most populous place in the province.

Every modern mayor has tried to make the argument Winnipeg ought to matter more because a majority of Manitobans calls the cityhome. And every modern mayor has found voters could not care less.

When Winnipeggers are annoyed with roads and transit, they direct that ire toward the mayor, not the premier or finance minister.

That's why Pallister and Friesenwon't be the first people Bowman thanks on election nightassuming he runs again and wins.