It has been brought to our attention that the province has responded to the emails sent from folks on the Functional Transit Winnipeg website. Some respondents asked that we provide a follow up to folks who sent the email in order to explain the spin behind Minister Wharton’s response. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to send an email to contact@functionaltransit.com and we will be happy to provide additional clarification.
What’s most important is that the response folks have received does address the demand for restoration of 50-50 funding. What Manitobans are calling for is matching transit operating funding with the City of Winnipeg.
A) The statement that the current PC government is providing $3 million more to transit is misleading. There are three reasons why that number is deceptive:
- In the 2016 budget – the first budget the PC government was responsible for – they increased funding to transit as is normally part of the 50-50 funding agreement. However, after that first year, they froze funding and ended the agreement. So that means they are contributing more than the previous NDP government, however the NDP increased funding annually when they were in power and there was no indication they would have ended the 50-50 agreement.
- The amount contributed by the provincial government is dependent on the city’s contribution. Under the 50-50 funding agreement, the province provides 50 percent of eligible funding. The city chooses how much it will fund transit and the province just matches it. In fact, in the last NDP government budget their contribution to transit was lower than the previous year because the city itself cut its own contribution to transit.
- Finally, the reason the statement is essentially false is because it fails to take into account inflation. When you account for inflation from 2015 to 2018, the province now contributes nearly the same. When you adjust for inflation and denominate the NDP’s 2014 contribution in 2018 dollars, the NDP actually contributed just slightly more to transit than the current government. Here are a couple charts indicating the reductions:
B) The letter says that funding for transit is provided through an unconditional grant of $116 million to the City of Winnipeg. That line seems to imply that they are providing $116 million for transit, but that is not what is happening. The province has put transit funding into one lump sum that the city must divide among all the departments previously funded by the province. That amount has been frozen.
C) The PCs are taking credit for funding for the Southwest Corridor here, but it wasn’t this government that approved that funding. The previous NDP government approved this funding. In fact, the city struggled last year to have the Southwest Corridor funding agreement honored by the province.
D) The province is taking credit for buses they helped the city purchase in previous years. What they neglect to mention is that they have cut the provincial funding program for buses that has existed since at least 2001. As late as 2017, the city was expecting to continue to receive over $3 million annually for bus replacement, however this funding has been ended. To view the 2001, 2017 and 2019 budgets indicating the loss of funding from the province, click here.
E) This paragraph is about city policies and programs and does not reflect provincial initiatives.
So that’s a little breakdown of issues with the response email. Given the cuts to funding and uncertainty transit faces in terms of ongoing funding, Minister Wharton’s final statement in the letter should be read with some skepticism. It seems unlikely the government is “pleased” to make investments in transit.