Candidates speak out
Winnipeg mayoral hopefuls take in some issues affecting student life

Part two of a two-part series

Gordon Reid and Janet Kemp

In part one of The Manitoban's special on the upcoming civic election, four mayoral candidates were interviewed and asked about issues that directly concern university students. In this second and final installment to the report, the three remaining candidates -- Susan Thompson, Terry Duguid and Nick Ternette -- will state their views.

These candidates were asked their views on transit fare reduction, bicycle paths and a proposal to build a baseball stadium on the U of M's Fort Garry campus.

Transit Fare Reduction
While the rising costs of attending universities has been granted national exposure, the associated costs of attending post-secondary institutions (i.e. transit fares) have largely been ignored. The Manitoban asked the mayoral candidates if they would be in favour of reducing bus fare for university students, in order to alleviate some of the financial strain that they experience.

Mayor Susan Thompson does not see a transit fare reduction for university students as something that is possible at this time. "My concern is that there's a $30 million deficit with transit right now," she explained, "and it is rising at an alarming rate." Until this deficit can be brought down, Thompson will not support any reductions in transit fare.

On the other hand, Nick Ternette favours widespread transit fare reduction, but with special consideration given to students. "I believe in reducing transit fares as a whole, he commented. "I think students should obviously also have a reduced fare." Ternetted noted that high fares are prohibitive and that they reduce ridership on a widescale basis.

City Councillor Terry Duguid sees reducing fares for university students as viable only if it's done under certain conditions. "If the university could guarantee that a certain number of passes were bought, perhaps we could give a break on fares," Duguid suggested. "Fundamentally, we have to maintain the revenue base of the transit system or we have to pass the costs on to seniors and other users." Duguid also highlighted his involvement as the chairman of the Works and Operations Committee in the recent restructuring of transit fares.

Bicycle Paths
As a cost-effective alternative to driving or using public transportation, an increasing number of students are cycling to and from the university. The candidates were asked what initiatives they would take in facilitating the construction and use of bicycle paths.

A self-proclaimed "eco-socialist," Nick Ternette advocates the use of environmentally- conscious modes of transport, like bicycles. "We don't have enough," Ternette responded when asked about bike paths. "We need to create a whole separate system of bicycle paths to encourage people to bicycle and also to walk and not to use their car, basically."

Susan Thompson has a great deal of support for the construction of bike paths around the city. The Red River Corridor Study, a paper on path development by the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects, has already been presented to City Council. Thompson will "see what council can do," about the association's recommendations, but asks, "Where do we get the money?"

"Green lanes" for bicycles are gradually being created out of existing roadways. Susan Thompson favours these as the best and most cost-effective option for bicycle path development. The current mayor drew attention to a green lane that has recently been built on Taylor Avenue.

"My committee put approximately half a million dollars in the budget every year for bicycle and pedestrian paths, both on existing roadways and on riverbank," remarked Councillor Duguid. "We've made more progress in the last three years. But still, we are behind other cities and we have to better that."

A Baseball Stadium for the U of M
With the recent demise of the Spirit of Manitoba's bid to keep the Jets in Winnipeg, a large amount of public money (including $30 million from the City of Winnipeg) has been freed up for other uses. The three remaining candidates were asked if they would be opposed to using some of the money to build a baseball stadium at the U of M for the 1999 Pan-Am Games.

Duguid seemed non-committal when asked his opinion on the site of a proposed stadium. "It should be put where it can be used by the community after the [Pan-Am] Games," he maintained. "Political agenda should not dictate where it goes."

According to Mayor Thompson, the city has no choice but to build a baseball facility to house the teams participating in the 1999 Pan-Am Games. There is no conclusive answer to where this facility is going to be built. Susan Thompson favours the University of Manitoba as the best location for the stadium, but has to meet with the stakeholders in order to come to a final agreement.

"What we need right now is to bring Pan-Am stakeholders back together again and say 'What makes the most sense here?' The U of M makes the most sense to me, but some of the others feel that it is not a central enough location," stated the mayor.

Citing his involvement in the campaign against the Spirit of Manitoba's attempt to build an arena at The Forks, Nick Ternette finds the concept of using public money for sporting facilities atrocious. "As long as there's no public taxpayers' money involved in it, I would support it," he proclaimed. "It would have to be financed completely and independently by business and people who are prepared to put their own money into it. I do not in any way believe in mixing sports and government, especially civic government."

Ternette favours a Fort Garry site over The Forks for any new sports facility. "I would probably support it being at the university," he noted. "I would definitely not support any kind of arena or any kind of baseball stadium at The Forks because The Forks have to remain clean and any concept like that would destroy the whole downtown area."

Other Issues and Initiatives
The Manitoban asked the candidates to comment on any initiatives or plans that they had relating to post-secondary education.

Nick Ternette considers the primary function of the mayor in regards to education as a support role. "The mayor's job primarily is to give a vision or give a perspective to the kind of city we want to live in," Ternette stated. "That doesn't mean that the mayor can't speak up in terms of calling for a better educational system."

Employment was the first word out of Susan Thompson's mouth when asked if she could think of any other issues affecting university students. "We need jobs for young people. If there are no opportunities, young people are going to leave Winnipeg," the mayor stated with concern.

Mayor Thompson was adamant about her intentions if re-elected."My second term in office, as I have promised, will emphasize economics and local business. We have to enhance local business and attract business to Winnipeg in order to compete with other cities. Unless we can get into the top five, nobody will want to stay here and set up business and without local business we can not compete."

Terry Duguid favours a volunteer program for high school graduates in order to give them practical experience. "Winnipeg is known as a volunteer centre," he offered. "There's no shortage of things to do. I think that we as a city could provide work experience."

Voters take to the polls on Wednesday, October 25th.

This article first ran in The Manitoban, Vol. 83 , No. 8 (October 4, 1995). This was the follow-up to the first part that ran on September 20, 1995.

Of the candidates (if memory serves me), I interviewed Duguid, Greiger, Ternette and Pollock. Thompson won the election, Duguid placed a bland 3rd and Ternette...well, I don't think that he had a victory speech prepared. Ternette likely benefitted the most from these articles, as they probably helped get out the dopehead vote, crucial to his success.