Meanwhile in Ontario, Doug Ford cackles menacingly
Alberta in response: I like telling the municipalities, British Columbia and the federal government what to do.
Generally speaking I’m a slightly left of centre type. This feels like an attempt to defend the city of Winnipeg against a future PC majority in the provincial government. Politically it is interesting, however any rule a government makes can be unmade by the next one, so I’m not sure how future proof this is.
In a green energy adoption scenario, we need to be able to overrule NIMBYism at some point. The municipal board hearing was allowing a lot of knuckle-dragging by vocal minorities.
However, I’m simultaneously pro-development of Manitoba’s resources and the North. And this gives the some power to the province to force things through. Some of those things will have adverse effects on local residents who don’t see the direct benefits of larger scale projects (mining, hydro, etc.) and this was a tool that they could use to make their voices heard. They can still use it, but it’s harder now.
I think requiring the support of 5% of the population to trigger a hearing is more than fair.
I’d like to know more about the hearings themselves, though.