The municipality of Kildonan was originally formed from the municipality of Kildonan and St. John’s (incorporated in 1876) after the passing by the Provincial Government of the Municipal Incorporation Act of 1873. The municipality of Kildonan and St. John’s was renamed Kildonan after the Provincial Act of 1880, with jurisdiction over land on both the east and west sides of the Red River. The name “Kildonan” dates from 1817, when the Earl of Selkirk created the Parish of Kildonan while visiting the colony he had established in 1812. The name refers to the Strath of Kildonan on the Sutherland estate in Scotland from whence a number of his settlers had come.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government – while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities.

The Special Committee to Investigate Inspection Services was appointed by Council in March of 1922 to consider and report on the amalgamation or coordination of inspection services. In particular, the committee was instructed to identify overlapping or duplicate effort and ways to increase efficiency and economy. The committee consisted of seven aldermen. While committee records do not contain a final report or recommendations, the task of reorganizing city departments is revisited between 1923 and 1926 by another special committee.

South Winnipeg Limited was incorporated in Manitoba shortly after 1911 as a result of an agreement signed by Tuxedo Estates Limited, Tuxedo Park Company Limited, Kenaston Realty Company Limited and Warner Land Company Limited in 1911. The principals and major investors in these companies were Frederick W. Heubach and David Finkelstein of Winnipeg, E. C. Kenaston of Hopkins, Minnesota (president of American-Abel Engine and Thresher Company), E. C. Warner of Minneapolis (president of Midland Linseed Oil Company), G. F. Piper of Minneapolis (Piper and Co. Wholesale Grain Merchants), Walter D. Douglas of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (president of American Cereal Co.). South Winnipeg Limited was incorporated for the purpose of amalgamating various properties in and around Tuxedo, with plans to develop and sell this land for industrial and residential purposes. The company was reorganized in 1923 as South Winnipeg (1923) Limited and continued to buy and sell land. It was sold circa 1950 to Sir Denys Lowson, Lord Mayor of London. After Lowson’s death, the company was purchased by a Winnipeg firm.

The Parking Authority was founded in 1958, with the passing of By-Law No. 18056. In 1972, the Parking Authority was put under the control of the Committee on Environment, and in 1973, By-Law No. 18056 was repealed.

The Parking Authority was responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance, control and management of public parking lots and parking buildings belonging to the City. Most business consisted of expropriating land to build parking lots.

As a standing committee of Council, the duties of the Committee on Finance included supervision of all City accounts, preparation of the annual budget, monitoring wages of all subordinate employees of the city, and consideration and review of every committee report that included a recommendation for the expenditure of civic funds before it was submitted to City Council. The original name of the committee was Committee on Finance and Assessment. In later years it was called the Finance Committee or Committee on Finance. The Board of Control replaced the Committee on Finance during the period 1907-1918.

The Committee on Public Safety was responsible for supervision of the City Fire Department, Signal System, Building, Plumbing and Electrical Inspection Services, and Transportation and Traffic. The name of the Committee changed from the Committee on Public Safety to the Public Safety Committee for the years 1951-1957. In 1958 the duties of the Public Safety Committee were taken over by the Committee on Public Works.

In 1960, the Committee on Utilities and Personnel was formed by By-law 18236 to perform the combined functions of the former Committee on Public Utilities and Committee on Personnel and Legislation.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government: while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities. From about 1924 onward, special committees and their associated files were assigned an alpha-numeric code beginning with the letter "A".

The Special Committee on the Future of the Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation was established by Council motion in May of 1962. It was composed of the mayor and two aldermen each from the Committees of Finance, Utilities, Personnel and Public Works and was instructed to determine whether or not to submit a referendum to ratepayers concerning dissolution of the Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation, and what to do should ratepayers vote to retain the Board. Although the committee advised against a referendum and prepared a draft agreement identifying services the City would perform for the Board, a referendum held in October of 1964 (By-Law 19003)) resulted in dissolution of the Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation. The file code for this special committee was A107.

The Volunteer Aid and Relief Fund Committee was established by Council Motion on April 13, 1885. The Motion provided an initial sum of $1000 to be used exclusively for the relief of the "wives and families of those volunteers" called to the front, and established a committee to administer the fund. The Committee consisted of the mayor and six aldermen. The Committee was assisted by a Ladies Association, the members of which found "cases of necessity among the families of the Volunteers". The work of the Committee concluded in October of 1885. An audit of their papers and books was approved by Council and forwarded to the newspaper for publication.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government – while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities. From about 1924 onward, special committees and their associated files were assigned an alpha-numeric code beginning with the letter “A”.

The Special Committee to Enquire into the Employment of Married Women was appointed by Council on July 14, 1924 to determine how many married women were employed by the City. The Committee was also required to gather information regarding residency for all City employees. Based on a detailed survey of City departments, the Special Committee recommended to Council and Council adopted a policy of not engaging married women if they were not dependent on their work to manage their affairs and of not engaging any help resident outside the City. The Special Committee was composed of four aldermen. No file code was assigned to this special committee.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government – while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities. From about 1924 onward, special committees and their associated files were assigned an alpha-numeric code beginning with the letter “A”.

The Special Committee on Investigation of the Fire Department was appointed by Council on May 13, 1919. It was composed of three aldermen, a representative of the Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association, one citizen member and one member of the Firemen’s Union. The Special Committee was instructed to review departmental operations with a view to recommending changes that would improve efficiency. The final report of the Special Committee was submitted to Council on May 25, 1920. While the Special Committee file does not contain a copy of the final report, the report was referred from Council to the Committee on Fire, Water, Light and Power and from there to the Committee on Public Safety (two copies of the report are located in File 12 of this committee’s communications). No file code was assigned to this special committee.

Winnipeg into the Nineties (WIN) was a volunteer group of citizens with a vision of how the City of Winnipeg should and could be developed. Created in January 1989, meetings were held bi-weekly at the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg offices and were chaired by Shirley Bradshaw. Members of the Founding Committee were: Shirley Bradshaw, Al Ducharme, Elizabeth Fleming, Mike Gidora, Barry Hammond, Marilyn Letts, Shirley Lord, Christine McKee, Evelyn Reese, Greg Selinger, Tom Simms and Donna Mae Yeo.

WIN was formed to oppose the so-called "Gang of 18", an informal group of councillors who held a majority on council and who met regularly before official council meetings to determine the city's agenda. The "Gang of 18" was a successor to the Independent Citizen's Election Committee, a right-wing municipal party that dominated Winnipeg's city council from the early 1970s to the early 1980s. WIN’s objectives were: to provide a vision for the City of Winnipeg and a future agenda based on clear policies for action; to promote open government and freedom of information in the interests of informed decision-making; to ensure accountability of elected officials on the basis of agreed, openly-stated policy positions; to promote ethical government and financial accountability through the open declaration of election contributions, individual statements of assets, and clear, conflict of interest by-laws; and to encourage citizen participation and consistent, reasoned decision-making that could be explained and justified to the general public. WIN worked to raise community awareness of municipal issues in Winnipeg, to facilitate the construction of a policy platform designed to achieve its stated objectives, and to field and support candidates who supported their objectives. WIN endorsed several candidates in Winnipeg’s 1989, 1992 and 1995 municipal elections, including future Mayor Glen Murray and future premier of Manitoba, Greg Selinger.

In the 1990’s WIN continued as a political organization in Winnipeg, under the name “Winnipeg in the '90s”. It was dissolved by members in late 1996.

In October 1981, Mayor William (Bill) Norrie created the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Race Relations to examine racial matters, advise the Mayor and City Council on racial issues, and recommend ways to improve racial harmony in the City of Winnipeg.

The Race Relations Committee replaced the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Race Relations in the fall of 1984. Shortly thereafter, a steering committee was formed to report on the role, operation, and structure of the Race Relations Committee. On March 23, 1985, it recommended that the Race Relations Committee be reconstituted as the City of Winnipeg Race Relations Commission. The steering committee believed the Commission would have more authority as it would report directly to the Mayor and City Council. As well, the steering committee determined that “if [the commission] was placed in any other context, the body would not appear to have sufficient authority.” The steering committee also recommended that the City create an ad hoc committee of the Mayor’s Race Relation Committee to hold public meetings.

The final outcome of this work was the creation of the Community and Race Relations Committee (CRRC) by City Council on June 11, 1986. The CRRC was mandated to develop policies and programs to improve racial relations within Winnipeg and to provide guidance for individuals and organizations seeking aid on matters of racial discrimination. The CRRC was also tasked with mediating disputes in order to foster understanding between ethnic groups.

Initially, the CRRC consisted of seven community at large members, seven institutional members, the Mayor, Chief of Police, Chief Commissioner, and the Chairperson of the Executive Policy Committee. The Mayor served as Chairperson and the role of Vice-Chairperson was given to the Chairperson of the Executive Policy Committee.
There were also several sub-committees including the Education and Management Sub-Committees. The CRRC reported the Executive Policy Committee.

In 1988, the Management Sub-Committee recommended that the Chairperson be a citizen member and the Mayor become the Vice-Chairperson. It was also recommended that the community at large members be reduced from seven to three and the institutional membership be increased to eleven. City Council adopted these recommendations on June 11, 1988.

The CRRC was criticized as having too much institutional representation and not enough from the community. Beginning in 1993, the Management Sub-Committee began a review of the CRRC’s structure. In response to demographic changes in Winnipeg, City Council dissolved the CRRC on December 31, 1999. It was later replaced with the Task Force on Diversity on January 1, 2000. The Task Force on Diversity became the Citizen Equity Committee the following year.

The Joint Committee on Vacant Lands Settlement, also known as the Special Committee on Colonization, was appointed by Council on January 30, 1888 to work with the Board of Trade and other interested parties to devise “a scheme for the settlement of vacant lands in the vicinity of the City of Winnipeg”. The City’s interest in settlement of these lands is apparent as early as 1880 when Council passed a motion on June 14 of that year calling for the Dominion government to “unlock” and distribute land “set aside for the children of Half Breeds” in the Manitoba Act of 1870. The Joint Committee’s plan was implemented during the spring and summer of 1888. It involved the preparation and distribution of information pamphlets by travelling agents hired by the Joint Committee and by agents in North American ports of arrival. Various bonuses were offered to agents and others for successful settlement of these lands. In December of 1888, Council instructed the City Solicitor to prepare a by-law that would enable Council to issue debentures to fund the work of the Colonization Committee during 1889 (By-Law 431). Being a money by-law, it was put to a vote by rate-payers and was defeated at the polls. Although the Joint Committee on Vacant Lands Settlement appears not to have continued beyond 1888, communications received by the City suggest that efforts to encourage settlement of lands around the City of Winnipeg were ongoing into the 1890s.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government: while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities. From about 1924 onward, special committees and their associated files were assigned an alpha-numeric code beginning with the letter "A".

The Special Committee on Housing Conditions was formed in December of 1933. In the original motion, the committee was instructed to conduct a detailed survey of housing conditions in Winnipeg. This motion was amended and the scope of the committee expanded to address the "whole matter of housing conditions in the City of Winnipeg". In 1935, the committee was further instructed to look into overcrowding and to determine areas that could be cleared and redeveloped. Between 1937 and 1945, the committee formed and managed the Winnipeg Housing Company Limited and its demonstration home project.

Throughout its history, the committee worked with the federal and provincial governments to take advantage of programs and funding sources for housing starts and renovations. In particular, the committee worked with Wartime Housing Limited to address housing needs for returning servicemen and veterans. In 1947, the committee created a Fact Finding Board to prepare a report on housing conditions up to that point in time.

Acute housing shortages during the 1940s lead to creation of the Emergency Housing Department in 1945, reported to Council through the Special Committee on Housing Conditions. This city department maintained a registry of applicants for housing and available housing units, lead a campaign to encourage citizens to register and rent out unoccupied rooms in their homes, administered various emergency and low rental housing sites, and became increasingly involved in welfare and social work relating to tenants in city housing projects (individual or family case histories are contained in some communications files). Annual reports prepared by the Emergency Housing Department provide statistical data and analyses of the effects of acute housing shortages on those living in substandard housing as well as on the city as a whole.

Effective January 1, 1957, the staff of the Emergency Housing Department were transferred into the Public Welfare Department of the City of Winnipeg, which then reported to Council through the Public Welfare Committee. At the first council meeting in 1957, a motion to "not reappoint" the Special Committee on Housing Conditions carried by majority and it was discontinued.

The City of Winnipeg was incorporated in 1873 by a charter granted by the legislature of Manitoba. At incorporation, the City established a committee system of government: while Council was the governing body for the City, it was in committee that civic policies were formed and executed. The initial task for the first and all subsequent Councils was to strike standing committees for the Council year. In addition to standing committees, Council established special committees and commissions to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City.

The Better Housing Commission was formed in 1966 as specified in Section 707A of The Winnipeg Charter. The Commission consisted of five persons appointed annually by Winnipeg City Council. The Commission heard appeals related to notices issued under By-law No. 19165 (Minimum Standard of Housing Repair By-law). This by-law established minimum standards for the state of repair of the exteriors of residential buildings and of buildings in residential areas, and enabled enforcement. Members of the Commission in its inaugural year were: Alderman S. Rebchuk, George A. Stewart, E. J. W. Akins, T. A. MacFarlen, and Serge Radchuk. With the exception of Serge Radchuk, who was replaced by Fred James in 1967, membership remained the same until the last year of the Commission. The Better Housing Commission ceased operations in 1971 with the formation of Unicity.