Rockwood council voted unanimously last week to withdraw from the Capital Planning Region.
The Capital Planning Region is a statutory corporation established through provincial legislation and operates as the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. It is responsible for adopting a regional plan by Jan. 1, 2027.
The governance structure for the organization is set out in provincial regulation, which includes oversight by a board of directors.
In August, the provincial government introduced Bill 4 legislation that allows municipalities to opt out of the Capital Planning Region.
Rockwood Reeve Wes Taplin said council felt they weren’t getting answers from the Capital Planning Region and were repeatedly told to wait until an upcoming date for more information.
“Our take on it is that it’s not the direction that we’re wanting to go at this time, but if it changes then council can opt back in if we want to. But, at this time, it’s not working. It’s not the direction that we’re heading,” Taplin said.
“We’re still waiting for answers. Until we get more clarification, we are opting out. In Bill 4, there’s a provision that if you want to get back in, you have to have a public hearing. When the time comes, if that’s something that council of the day wants to do, that would be up to them.”
Several months ago, the RM of Rockwood also withdrew from JohnQ Public Inc., which is a voluntary municipal participation corporation that aims to support infrastructure development and economic growth in and around Winnipeg.
“They started out from the same entity from the Winnipeg Metro Region. JohnQ split off and became a publicly traded company. It went on its own,” Taplin explained. “Winnipeg Metro Region now became the Capital Planning Region. So JohnQ and the Capital Planning Region are two separate entities and we’ve withdrawn from both of them.”
Coun. Lana Hintz noted that council agreed in their decision to opt out.
“It was a unanimous decision,” she said. “When you’re not getting the answers that you want, you have to be proactive rather than reactive.”
Coun. Neal Wirgau shared similar sentiments about withdrawing from the Capital Planning Region.
“Maybe they’ll come forward with a plan that is worthwhile but right now, from what we can see, there’s nothing there,” he said. “They’re just spinning their wheels.”
Coun. Curtis McClintock noted that the RM of Rockwood continues to work with nearby municipalities on regional projects.
“We’re as regional as we can be with all our neighbouring municipalities anyway,” he said. “We’ve got SAMS, fire departments, recreation. We’re very regionally focused.”
Taplin concurred, stressing the importance of the regional approach.
“We participate regionally hugely without being a part of the Capital Planning District,” he said.
Other municipalities that have withdrawn from the Capital Planning District include the City of Selkirk, the Village of Dunnottar and the RMs of West St. Paul, St. Andrews, Macdonald, Taché and Springfield.
