SMART | city


big, no effort beyond us. Te future was bright and shining with hope. We were possibilitarians! In 1873, when the City of Winnipeg was incorporated, we were still fifteen years away from the completion of the railway, yet construct ion was already ceaseless. We simply used the rivers to bring in materials until the Countess of Dufferin, the first train locomotive, reached the city in 1877. When the final link was closed in the rail line from eastern Canada in 1881, the f loodgates opened to immigration. Growth accelerated to a feverish pitch. Towns sprang up all over the


Bold Ideas Dorothy Dobbie


prairie and grain poured from the rich, virgin soil. Mines opened, drawing the population north. Te rail link to Hudson Bay gave us access to the oceans of the world. Visionaries saw nothing but a brilliant future for this mid-


Canada province; the keystone province, they called it. Tis optimism and can-do attitude made amazing things


happen. Our people were strong, resilient and ingenious. We made the things we couldn’t easily import – from pi- anos to parts for foreign-made printing presses to paper to farm machinery. We invented things to make life better for every day living. We built factories that produced candy and cookies, clothing and furniture, airplanes and rockets, boats and bridges, cement and concrete – there was nothing we couldn’t do. Ten began the slow decline, when instead of focussing


on the possibilities and how we could grow enterprise and develop wealth, a few envious types began to covet the possessions of their more industrious neighbours. Tey proclaimed their entitlements and taught our children that those around them owed them a living. Gradually, the culture of rights and entitlements became the mantra of the day, then the decades. Tis attitude even coloured how “conservative” govern-


ments operated so that even when they were in power, little was done to truly stimulate the energy and optimism that built the city and the province. Even business people were affected, some stating that “government” should do more, as if government were a thing outside the people instead of borne of its citizens. Being a possibilitarian


Te excesses of the past are coming back to haunt us. We


are in trouble. Debt is eating away at our prosperity. We can no longer afford to live off our neighbours through the agency of “government”. Now it’s time for a re-charge. We need to focus on creating


wealth and prosperity. We need to become possibilitarians once again.


The recent opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is a prime example of what bold ideas can achieve! Let’s start by learning to dream. What can we do to open


up the world of possibility? Recently, Premier Pallister did that by vowing to court Amazon to make Manitoba its sec- ond North American headquarters! Wow! How can we help? 1. Say yes when asked if we can do things. 2. Stop seeing bureaucratically-created rules and regula-


tions as being insurmountable roadblocks. 3. Start seeing how we can remove roadblocks and open


up opportunity. We made the rules. We can unmake them. 4. Learn who Jeff Bezos of Amazon really is and what


moves him – then play our cards with all our might, crea- tively, energetically and with good humour. (Tere are local people who know him -- use them!) Amazon is just one potential opportunity. We will be one


among many jurisdictions trying to get them, but there are so many more prospects. All we have to do is dream them, then follow up with creative energy and vigour! Here are 10 ideas to get you started thinking out of the


box: 1. Reach out, reach out, reach out to advise the world that


Manitoba is once again open for business! Enlist our loyal Manitoba entrepreneurial players to make this effective. (Tourism Manitoba cannot do this, nor can other bureau- crats, consultants or accounting firms.) 2. Embrace the Regional Centers concept of PMCR – the


Capital/Metro Region -- which wants to reduce red tape, eliminate conflicts between neighbouring municipalities and co-operate to make business bigger and better. 3. Revisit and revise the rules inhibiting indigenous


enterprise in rural Manitoba. Help them learn to exploit their own advantages. 4. Open up immigrant investment opportunities to bring


in both new wealth and new ideas. 5. Remove the barricades at Portage and Main to symbolize


our go-ahead attitude. 6. Revisit the prospect of removing the rail lines from the


city and using that land to build a bigger tax base to the ben- efit of all. 7. Heat the main thoroughfares in Winnipeg, Brandon, Sel-


kirk, Steinbach to reduce the cost of snow removal, the freeze thaw cycle and the damage done to the streets from plow and frost heave. Use this experience to create a world knowledge centre for how to create livable winter cities. 8. Reclaim our sister-city relationship with Chengdu, China


and explore new trade concepts in one of the world’s fastest growing economies. 9. Develop the International Peace Garden Conflict Resolu-


tion Centre to take advantage of this natural asset to comple- ment the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and all the other local peace initiatives. 10. Explore new power initiatives. Can we exploit the emerg-


ing electrical vehicle charging centre market in North Ameri- ca? Can we sell lithium to the world that wants to build power storage batteries? Create a business environment that makes it worthwhile for resource developers to invest in Manitoba. Got you thinking? Send us your bold ideas and we will


publish them. Remember, we are Manitoba Possibilitarians!


Brookside Cemetery Field of Honour has a great historic resonance for the people of Winnipeg.


H


ello and welcome to the October issue of Smart Biz! On Sunday September 10, 2017, I


participated in a special Can- ada 150 Candlelight Service of Remembrance at Brookside Cemetery. Tis remembrance has special power for us today, as we recall that these tradi- tional lands of the First Nations and Métis peoples have shel- tered generations of Winnipeg- gers not only in joy, but also in sorrow. Not only in life, but also when earthly life, is past. Brookside Cemetery and its


Field of Honour, has a great his- toric resonance for the people of our city. More than 12,000 veterans, service people, and war heroes, are interred there. Tis Field of Honour is home


heroism and courage for so many citizens of Winnipeg. Tis year we marked the 150th anniversa- ry of Canada’s Confederation, an anniversary which brought forth many emotions. There is much pride in our


past and our achievements. Tere is also sorrow for Cana- da’s mistakes, most painfully the wrongs done to Indigenous peoples over centuries. There is no doubt that our


State of the City Brian Bowman


to Canada’s only Commonwealth War Graves Commission Stone of Remem- brance. We live in a busy and distracting time –


besieged by an unceasing torrent of images and information. We should never be so busy, or distracted,


that we forget the people, events, and ide- als that define us. We must take the time to remember, and reflect, and show our gratitude. On September 10th, in 1939, Canada en-


tered World War II. Tis was the day which changed the lives of so many, forever. Tis day began a chapter of sorrow, sacrifice,


4 Smart Biz


idea of Canada, our vision of Canada, is an idea which can and must continue to grow: until we truly become the just and beautiful “True North”, for all our peoples. Without the men and women


who sacrificed so much, those who rest in the Field of Honour,


we would not have the opportunity to reach for that idea of Canada. Tis year, we mark the moments of cour-


age which helped define us. A century since the roar of the guns at


Vimy Ridge, the first time all four Canadian divisions fought together, in World War I. A century since the terror of Passchen-


daele, where, despite 16,000 casualties, the Canadians prevailed. Three-quarters of a century since the


carnage of Dieppe: a defeat that paved the way to victory, at D-Day. We remember all those Canadians, who have done their duty – and who continue


Winnipeg's Brookside Memorial Cemetery.


to do their duty – well and bravely; in war- time, peacekeeping, disaster relief and in humanitarian efforts worldwide. We give thanks for the men and women


of the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Te members of the Canadian Forces Re- serves, and the members of the Canadian Merchant Navy. We also give extraordinary thanks for our


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firefighters and police officers, and all who risk their lives for the safety and security of our community. As Mayor, it is my privilege to work each


day, with members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, and the Winnipeg Police Service. Teir courage and compas- sion is a miracle of service I’ve witnessed, first-hand and I know Winnipeggers are very grateful. Brookside Cemetery is home to the


Winnipeg Fire Fighters’ Memorial Monu- ment, in a special section dedicated to our firefighters. September 10, 2017 has been proclaimed the first Firefighters’ National Memorial Day, and our flags flew at half- mast, to honour their sacrifices. All those who serve our community and


our nation with such courage, discipline, and honour – at great risk to themselves, at home or abroad – offer us a truly noble example of service for which we must be grateful. And, for the fallen and the veterans and


their families who rest in this Field of Hon- our our remembrance must endure. Indigenous and non-Indigenous, men


and women, people of all backgrounds and faiths and walks of life have sacrificed to give us the opportunity to become the kind of Winnipeg, and the kind of Canada, we aspire to be. Every candle that was lit, is a ray of hope


for the future that they have given us. And our constant remembrance and gratitude, is a reflection of who we wish to be, can be, and will become, tomorrow.


October 2017


Creating the Manitoba Possibilitarians! I


n 1870, when Manitoba joined Confederation, it was with a sense of hope and possibility that drew people from all over the world. Te sky was the limit – no project was too


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