Critics of the proposed $2-million cut to City of Winnipeg community and neighbourhood grants warn the change will hinder efforts to prevent crime and reduce support for the city’s most vulnerable people.
The City of Winnipeg expects to provide $1.3 million in each of the next three years for the grants, a substantial reduction from the $3.4 million it provided this year.
“This kind of cut will impact the safety of everyone, of people coming downtown, of people wanting to visit,” said Michele Wikkerink, interim executive director of the Spence Neighbourhood Association.
Wikkerink said her organization provides many programs that offer youth positive activities to help deter them from crime. She said the association also recently worked to better support kids in care who were repeatedly involved in the justice system.
“You cannot find a study that doesn’t show recreational activities, especially after-school, prevent crime, gang involvement and keep kids in school,” said Wikkerink.
She suggested the city raise taxes to ensure it has enough money to funding all of the potentially affected grants.
“We pay some of the lowest (property) tax prices in Canada. Why are we so adverse to the cost of a trip to Costco, not even, in order to have nice things in our city?” said Wikkerink.
The city’s 2024 property tax hike cost the owner of a $338,900 home an additional $69.
A city report does not suggest which grants could be cut, but offers a new intake process that would apply to a long list of community organizations, which would compete for the reduced funding. The list includes the Spence Neighbourhood Association, Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, Downtown Community Safety Partnership, End Homelessness Winnipeg, Main Street Project, Art City and dozens of others.
Eddie Ayoub, artistic director for Art City, said he’s concerned the cuts will hinder so many programs that help prevent crime that the city will wind up paying more on emergency responses than it saves by reducing the grants.
“I think the fact that we are trying to save money here by cutting city grants is extremely counter-productive. It’s actually reckless and dangerous,” said Ayoub.
He also criticized the new grant application rules, which would make operating costs ineligible for the funding.
Ayoub said that change will limit community organizations’ ability to retain staff and avoid service interruptions. He alleged the grant rules reflect a misunderstanding of the importance of the work done by non-profit groups.
“I think the people proposing this cut have not sat down and had conversations and relationships with people who are unhoused or cooked a healthy meal for a roomful of children who have not eaten properly that day,” he said.
EPC voted in favour of the grant changes on Tuesday, which still require full council approval.
Under the proposed grant intake process, future city budgets would note only the lump sum of $1.3 million for the community and neighbourhood grants, while previous budgets included the full list of recipients.
Grants would be approved by an evaluation committee based on their alignment with council’s strategic priorities, instead of being approved by council as part of the budget process.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said the proposal to exclude operating funding from city grant applications was linked to budget constraints.
“We’re looking at difficult decisions we have to make with an ever-increasing demand on city resources,” said Gillingham.
The mayor acknowledged the overall budget will be reduced but said the city still supports youth and crime prevention initiatives.
Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of community services, said organizations could still seek funding directly from councillors’ community funds and other levels of government.
“I think all of the concerns brought forward today are valid. (But) at the end of the day, there’s only so much money that can go around here at the City of Winnipeg,” said Duncan.
Council is expected to cast the final vote on the grant changes on June 27.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
X: @joyanne_pursaga
Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.