Non-profit group upset at being neglected in bid for Vimy Arena site

A non-profit group that provides supports for people with disabilities in Winnipeg was astonished to learn about plans to turn the old, vacant Vimy Arena into an addictions recovery centre.

It's a property that Equal Opportunities West — which recycles e-waste and employs people with developmental challenges — had been eyeing for some time.

The group had inquired about it on a number of occasions with the city's planning, property and development department but kept getting stonewalled.

If we were getting told one story and there was something else in the works, it would have been nice for us to have known.- Susan Morgan

"We were told the city was doing due diligence, that there was a problem with the property lines and to keep watching the [City of Winnipeg] website, and when it came available then we could discuss it further," said Susan Morgan, executive director of Equal Opportunities West.

"That's the story I'd been getting consistently for months, even up to three weeks ago."

On Monday, Morgan found out Mayor Brian Bowman and city CAO Doug McNeil had been in discussions for months to turn the property in the Crestview area into the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre.

"If we were getting told one story and there was something else in the works, it would have been nice for us to have known," Morgan said.

"We could have either moved on or asked more questions at the time. But we kept getting a different story, that the city was doing its due diligence. But that didn't happen."

Morgan's councillor for the area, Shawn Dobson, said he was also blindsided by the news. He had been working with her group and was stunned when Bowman called him last weekend to say there had been some movement on the old arena site.

"The secrecy and lack of openness in transparency of our mayor and administration is glaringly apparent, and both saddens me and scares me," Dobson told CBC News earlier this week.

Mayor apologizes

Morgan said Bowman called her late Thursday afternoon to apologize and say he was unaware her organization was even interested in the property.

"We weren't on his radar," Morgan said.

She said Bowman told her he wants to work with both groups to find a solution.

"I think it's wonderful that he did take the time to reach out and I accept what he's saying. We're going to meet in the not-too-distant future and, hopefully, there will be resolution for both groups," said Morgan, who now wonders whether she should have gone directly to Bowman with her group's proposal in the first place.

"I followed other channels which I had been led to believe were the correct channels … So I think maybe the lines of communication are not the best with the city process."

The recovery centre proposal is being driven by veteran Hockey Night in Canada announcer Scott Oake. It's named after his son, who died from a drug overdose more than six years ago.

The plan is for the facility to house as many as 50 men for up to five years to recover from addictions.

"Both groups have admirable causes, and I think Scott Oake's cause is amazing," Morgan said. "But at the same time, we are part of this community [and] we had been just as equally interested in that property."

She noted that Bowman "was clear to say" that no final decisions have been made. Both the community and city council must still have input on any proposal.