Pallister government won't commit to rail relocation study
Sean Kavanagh | CBC News | Posted: June 7, 2016 10:13 PM | Last Updated: June 7, 2016
Tories also reviewing capital campaigns at U of M, Assiniboine Community College
The promise of a city not crisscrossed by rail lines may be in the caboose, depending on the results of a review by the Progressive Conservative government.
The PCs were asked in question period Tuesday if the new government would continue to support a study begun by the previous NDP regime looking at how to move kilometres of track out of the city of Winnipeg.
NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine, who represents St. Johns, framed the question by saying the rail lines in Winnipeg had separated the city along racial and economic lines as well as north to south. The NDP government hired former Quebec Premier John Charest last January to lead the task force.
"Rail relocation establishes stronger and safer communities," Fontaine said, noting the Lac Megantic rail disaster in Quebec in 2013.
In response, the Minister for Growth Enterprise and Trade, Cliff Cullen was noncommittal.
"I know there was some work done on this task force. We are certainly willing to take a look at the task force," Cullen told the Legislature.
The Selinger government committed $400,000 to fund the start of the study. Now the task force going forward may be in jeopardy as the new PC government hunts for savings among what Premier Brian Pallister says are literally thousands of promises made by the former government.
Some of them are good ones, according to Palllister, but that doesn't mean his government will spend money on them, including rail relocation in Winnipeg.
"I think it's a great idea. It's been a great idea for forty years. And the NDP government did nothing about it in their entire 17-year term. Now they are telling me to get 'Johnny-on-the-spot and take care of a problem they ignored for two decades? C'mon. Let's be real here," Pallister told reporters after question period.
Funding for the rail relocation task force was approved by the provincial Treasury Board under the previous regime. Pallister says the new government is still finding out just how many of those agreements were made
"The government's approved a ton of things. You are going to find out about a bunch more stuff they approved that they shouldn't have because they didn't have a moral right to do it. But I'll get into that at a later date," Pallister said.
The PCs committed to a review of all government projects and said today provincial support for capital campaigns at the University of Manitoba and the Assiniboine Community College would be included in those.