Faster connections to Manitoba Hydro and a thorough review of Winnipeg’s permitting process are on the cards to speed up local construction.

Premier Wab Kinew and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham spoke to a pro-construction crowd at a Manitoba Home Builders’ Association event Thursday.

Just 10 days earlier, the City of Winnipeg issued a request for proposals, seeking a consultant to undertake an end-to-end review of the municipality’s development process.

“It’s something we certainly don’t want to prolong,” Gillingham told reporters on Thursday. “As a city, we’re in a position right now where we need more housing, we need more investment in housing.

“The sooner we can improve our processes, the better for everyone. »

The city exceeded its goal of approving 8,000 housing units this year. According to Gillingham, approximately 12,000 units have been approved.

Around 3,000 of them are at the building permit stage, which is “the key” to starting work, the mayor said. “I think we’re going to see significant construction activity in 2025.”

Winnipeg has made great strides in improving its development process – such as implementing zoning changes in certain areas – and is in the process of making other changes, Gillingham added.

Next month, the online permitting process will become faster, he said. Details could be announced in the coming months.

The city is also considering artificial intelligence to speed up permitting. AI can be used on simple, standard application processes, the mayor said.

Developers have long lobbied to allow the changes due to long wait times and red tape.

The city is increasing its development workforce. Still, an outside perspective is needed, Gillingham said.

The Manitoba Home Builders’ Association supports the use of a third-party consultant. Finding discrepancies within the process will benefit the city and the construction industry, Chairman Lanny McInnes said.

There is a need to address culture at city hall, not just physical processes, added Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a culture that’s not customer-centric,” Rémillard said. “For far too long the experience has been one of a municipal bureaucracy with all the challenges, all the hoops that businesses have to jump through – some of which you don’t know exist until you’re halfway through the process. »

Too often, Winnipeg loses business because of red tape, Rémillard said.

He noted the rapid growth of CentrePort in the neighboring rural municipality of Rosser; Winnipeg had to create a concierge service to accelerate the development of its part of the inland port.

There has been progress within town hall, added Rémillard.

Winnipeg’s call for tenders to recruit licensing process consultants closes November 29.

In the meantime, the province has set up working groups to determine how to electrify new construction more quickly. The average time it takes to complete a service connection is approximately 180 days, according to Manitoba Hydro.

Kinew has promised to accelerate this process in the second quarter of 2025.

“The reason we’re moving forward with this project is to save you money and help the industry build more housing,” he said Thursday.

Costs are rising because fuel-fired generators are running at sites or because workers are waiting to move on, he said.

The Manitoba Home Builders’ Association is pushing for early-stage revitalization of new construction, such as in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Instead, energy typically comes from a home’s drywall and finishing time in Manitoba.

Upcoming changes to the federal code will require companies to identify how much carbon they spend building their homes. Using generators for the majority of work on construction sites will put Manitoba builders at a disadvantage, McInnes said.

“That’s why it’s urgent that Manitoba Hydro make this change,” he said.

Currently, engineers are testing power to sites more quickly and resolving electrical code issues, Kinew said. The policy also needs to be reviewed.

The working groups will report to Manitoba elected officials in December. There is a review period, then, in spring 2025, changes are expected to be implemented to speed up hookups, Kinew said.

“We want it to be self-paced, at your service,” he added.

Service connections are complex and include third-party contractors, the location of pipes and the need for builders to ensure sites are ready, noted Peter Chura, Hydro’s media relations manager.

“We know that connection times are an area we can improve,” Chura wrote in a statement. “Implementing faster connection times is a priority. »

Members of the construction industry have welcomed assurances of change.

“If there’s any delay, that obviously affects us,” said Tyler McPherson, a sales advisor at Powertec Solar, a solar energy provider. “If they plan to reduce (wait times), that’s great.”

Jason Darling, McPherson’s colleague, said he appreciated the promise to speed up permitting. He hopes that new construction will not take precedence over renovations.

Delays in obtaining permits are a recurring problem in many provinces, said Keith Kristalovich, vice-president of education and training partnerships at the Professional Home Builders Institute.

“It’s great to see the municipal and provincial governments committed to moving housing forward.

[email protected]

Gabrielle Piché
Journalist

Gabrielle Piché reports on the affairs of Free press. She completed an internship at Free press and worked for its sister store, Canstar Community Newsbefore entering the business beat in 2021. Learn more about Gabrielle.

Each report produced by Gabrielle is reviewed by an editorial team before being posted online or published in print – as part of the Free presssince 1872, the tradition of producing independent and reliable journalism. Learn more about Free pressthe history and mandate ofAnd find out how our editorial team works.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to fuel our journalism. If you are not a paying reader, consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its reading audience to fuel our journalism. Thank you for your support.