Carr aims to restore relations with Manitoba, Winnipeg
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2017 (2296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — Concerned by a persistent rift between Manitoba and Ottawa that has left Winnipeg projects in limbo, federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr will play host to meetings between representatives of all three levels of government in the hopes of improving the relationship.
“The people of Manitoba and Winnipeg want to know that their political leaders, at all levels, are working on their behalf,” Carr told the Free Press on Thursday. “A healthy tension can be a good thing. But constant bickering is not healthy.”
This year, Manitoba and Ottawa have had dust-ups over health spending, legalized marijuana, carbon taxes and infrastructure funding.
In a Nov. 21 letter, Carr asked both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman “to meet on a regular basis” to discuss “maximizing the opportunities available to Winnipeggers and Manitobans.”
The first meeting, which is being planned for January, will include Carr, Bowman and Manitoba deputy premier Heather Stefanson.
The three will decide how often to meet after that, and whether such gatherings will instead be by phone call.
“I would think that several times a year makes sense,” said Carr, the only Manitoban in the federal cabinet.
Carr said his goal is to “restore” conversations, so all three leaders better understand each others’ perspective and, hopefully, find common ground.
Manitoba has stood out among the provinces on multiple fronts this year.
In March, Pallister claimed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would withhold the $60 million in federal funding pledged for the “factory of the future,” an aerospace and automotive research hub in Winnipeg.
In August, Manitoba concluded a months-long holdout as the last province to sign Ottawa’s health accord (a term the province still refuses to use), which slowed the growth of payments to provinces.
Since September, Winnipeg has shelved eight projects, including a pedestrian-bike bridge over Pembina Highway, after the cash-strapped province restricted its spending.
The Liberals have tied most of their infrastructure funding to tripartite agreements, where the city and province have to pony up funds to get federal help.
In October, Pallister proposed a carbon tax that falls short of Ottawa’s 2022 target.
On Monday, Manitoba was the only province or territory that didn’t opt for Ottawa’s modified excise tax on legalized marijuana. That’s after pushing hard for an extension on the July 1 deadline for recreational pot.
The proposed $1-per-gram sin tax would see 25 per cent go to Ottawa until it hits an annual $100-million cap, and the rest going to the province where the product is sold. Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said Manitoba is weighing the benefits of either joining the deal or crafting “a provincial, standalone framework.”
Carr said on Thursday it’s not his role to guess whether Pallister is motivated by political convictions or if it’s just popular to take shots at Ottawa.
“It’s my job as a minister of the Canadian government, to take at face value what is done, and to deal with it. Premier Pallister has chosen to disagree, for his own reasons, on a variety of different files. It is my job to make sure that disagreements never are a threat to the interest of the people of Manitoba,” he said.
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Jim Carr invitation letters to Brian Pallister and Brian Bowman