Analysis: Digging into 3 claims made at Winnipeg's 3rd mayoral debate
Can city go it alone with safe-injection sites? Are businesses fleeing the Exchange?
Venkat Machiraju showed up 20 minutes late. Don Woodstock stormed off the stage and had to be encouraged back. Doug Wilson mused Winnipeg ought to have a French quarter, as if St. Boniface somehow does not exist.
Those were some of the stranger moments from Tuesday's mayoral debate at Manitoba Hydro's downtown headquarters. But there were three statements that require some fact-checking.
Claim No. 1: Bowman on safe-injection sites
A large portion of Tuesday's debate centred on Winnipeg's methamphetamine crisis. At one point, incumbent mayoral candidate Brian Bowman was pressed to say whether the city would proceed with a safe-injection site even if the province does not approve.
Bowman declined to rule this out. In a scrum with reporters after the debate, he was asked two more times to rule out the idea.
"I think we need to keep all options open," he said, adding he's been speaking to the Main Street Project and relatives of people who've died of overdoses. "What the families are telling me is don't rule anything out."
Is it possible for Winnipeg to proceed on its own?
Technically, yes. Practically, it wouldn't be easy.
There are two types of safe-injection sites in Canada. There are temporary overdose-prevention sites that operate in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario under provincial jurisdiction. Such sites likely are not in the cards for Winnipeg, given the lack of enthusiasm for the idea displayed by Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government.
There are also more permanent facilities called safe-injection sites or safe-consumption sites, which are legal in Canada provided an exemption is obtained under a section of federal legislation governing controlled substances.
Ottawa can choose to grant such an exemption if the city, the Main Street Project or some other entity submits an application. The question would then become who pays for the operating costs, which would be considerable.
If the city tried to obtain a federal exemption without the province's consent, there's no reason to expect the province to cough up any money.
As well, the province could consider this a provocative act. Since the province is the level of government responsible for both health and social services in Manitoba, Winnipeg's willingness to take on a new and expensive task would seem odd while the city complains the province is downloading more of the financial burden for services the city delivers, such as transit.
Of course, jurisdictional squabbles do nothing to prevent overdoses.
Claim No. 2: Motkaluk on businesses 'on the brink'
During Tuesday's debate, mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk said downtown businesses are "teetering on the brink" of leaving the Exchange District because of garbage, needles, a lack of parking and new bike lanes.
When asked to name specific businesses after the debate concluded, Motkaluk identified furniture store Hoopers as a departing business.
Her communications director David MacKay also promised to identify more businesses.
"Further exodus from the area is being predicted," he said, blaming this phenomenon on "bike lanes eliminating parking, rampant construction, nuisance ticketing of loading vehicles, inability to load inventory, lack of city consultation, needles, urination [and] couriers refusing to service."
Are businesses fleeing the Exchange District?
Hoopers is moving from the Exchange District to the Polo Park neighbourhood. That's no secret, as the pending move is front and centre on the furniture store's website.
Owner-proprietor Warren Hooper, however, said the move is primarily due to the absence of parking and loading room in an increasingly busy Exchange District he described as more conducive for restaurants today than it is for a furniture store.
"For my business specifically, it's just not working anymore," said Hooper, who expressed concern his move was used as fodder for mayoral debate.
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Hooper said he thought he was having a private conversation with MacKay when he discussed his move and denied crime or needles was a major factor.
"I am not publicly supporting anybody. I'm not making any political statements," he said, adding he spoke only to MacKay and not to Motkulak.
"I'm very frustrated these people are using a conversation I thought was private as a platform to serve their own purposes."
Motkaluk said she was listening to the call with Hooper and said he was made aware of that. Motkaluk also said they obtained Hooper's consent to use the name of his store in the debate.
Dave Pensato of the Exchange District Improvement Zone said he is aware many businesses in the neighbourhood are upset with car break-ins, the rise in city parking rates and the way bike lanes were brought in. But he said he's not aware of any exodus.
"That sounds like hyperbole to me," he said.
Claim No. 3: Motkaluk on FedEx refusing the Exchange.
Motkaluk also claimed on Tuesday FedEx is no longer delivering to some Exchange addresses, partly because of bike lanes.
Is FedEx really shying away from business?
Motkaluk said she heard this claim from Hooper, who said in turn he heard it from other businesses.
The allegation is bike lanes are forcing some delivery drivers to park too far from specific addresses.
FedEx did not respond to CBC News requests to confirm or deny the claim.
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