Photographs of various pipes, machines, and facilities around Winnipeg for the delivery and treatment of water and waste.

Fonds documents the administration of and functions related to parks, civil defence, streets and transit, water and waste, planning, finance, assessment, as well as the relationship between Metro and municipalities, provincial and federal levels of government, organizations and citizens.

Common record types include minutes, by-laws, correspondence, reports, maps/plans, and financial records.

Series consists of bound council minutes that record council motions related to by-laws, communications, appointments as well as the establishment and regulation of committees and functions regarding parks, water, public transportation, civil defence, planning and assessment, and others.

The volumes are arranged chronologically. In most cases, two books were produced annually documenting meetings held between January and June and July and December. Meeting minutes from 1960 begin with Metro’s inaugural meeting held on November 1 of that year and continues to the end of June. An index can be found in the first book of a given year. With the exception of the 1963 minutes, each volume has a number printed on its spine. The first four volumes are assigned numbers I to IV. Beginning in 1964, each book documenting the period from January to June is annually identified as “book 1” and followed by “book 2” for the July to December period.

The records consist of one complete set of original and signed meeting minutes and one sub-series.

Series consists of multiple versions of the Metropolitan Winnipeg Act and Procedure By-law of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg, as well as drafts, revisions, amendments and related reports, correspondence and inter-office memos. The records document Metro’s jurisdiction and boundaries, including the additional zone, and its powers within those boundaries. It also outlines the services Metro provided, its electoral divisions, election processes, organizational structure, terms of office, as well as the powers and responsibilities related to its key functions concerning its financial, assessment, planning, street and transit systems, waterworks and sewage disposal, and parks and civil defence divisions. By-law No. 245 further documents how Metro’s council and committees are to govern their proceedings.

Series consists of reports summarizing Metro’s highlights, events, organization, and major projects within a given year. Financial statements, statistics and reproductions of photographs are also included throughout the reports. Missing from series are annual reports for 1962 and 1970. It is unclear whether a report for 1971 exists as its scheduled publication date would have succeeded the creation of Unicity on January 1, 1972.

The annual reports were compiled and edited by Metro’s Information Officer based on reports submitted by each division. Two annual reports won First Prize in Division II, Class A from the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities’ Municipal Publications Contest. Annual reports were sent to provincial and municipal governments, local organizations, libraries and media sources, financial institutions and Metro staff.

Series consists of by-laws for the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg. By-laws were passed by the Metropolitan Council. Included in this series are schedules, zoning plans, notices, Canadian Electrical Code manuals and other supporting documents. The series documents the initial take over of municipal functions by Metro, as well as municipal regulations such as those related to traffic, streets, building inspections, zoning, parks, town planning, supply of power, bridges, and water throughout Metro’s existence.

By-laws are arranged numerically and are stapled or folded into pages originally folded into four parts. All by-laws have been flattened for storage and preservation purposes. Staples have been removed only in cases where attachments were stapled shut. Supporting documents are mainly kept with their corresponding by-laws but some plans were separated and stored in map cabinets due to their size and for conservation.

Series consists of by-laws 1-272, 274-704, 706, 708-710, 712-1557, 1559-1651, 1653, 1655-1720, 1723-1729, 1732-1795, 1797-1799, and 1801-1928 inclusively. By-laws missing from this series can be found in lower sub-series with the exception of 273, 1730, and 1731. By-law numbers for 1730-1731 were issued but not used, and the same is suspected for 273 but it is unclear.

The records also consist of 3 sub-series. For a more detailed description, see file list.

Series consists of minutes of standing, special and sub-committees formed under Metro. An index can be found in each volume. Each volume is arranged by committee (if the volume documents multiple committees), and chronologically. The set is numbered from 1 to 18 (including volumes 7A and 11A). The records consist of meetings held and recorded by the following committees:
• Committee on Planning
• Committee on Finance
• Committee on Streets and Transit
• Committee on Transportation
• Committee on Parks and Protection
• Committee on Waterworks and Waste Disposal
• Committee on Assessment
• Committee on Personnel
• Committee on Planning Public Hearings
• Committee on Communication
• Program Policy Committee
• Centennial Committee
• Liaison between Councils of the City of Winnipeg and Metro
• Centennial
• Special Committee Re Other Sources of Revenue
• Special Committee on Pan-American Games
• Special Committee Re Assessment Procedure
• Special Committee Re Metro Development Plan
• Special Committee Re By-law No. 707
• Special Committee Re Land-use Control By-laws
• Special Committee Re Centenary Celebrations Planning
• Special Committee on Transit Review
• Sub-committee on River Property Acquisition.

The Royal Commission on Local Government Organization and Finance, or the Michener Commission, was appointed on February 13, 1963 by Order-in-Council No. 183/63. The Commission was tasked with studying and reporting on the powers, functions and responsibilities of different levels of local government, their organization, financial structure, system of taxation and relationship to the provincial government.

Series consists of briefs, reports, and correspondence produced throughout the Michener Commission, or the Manitoba Royal Commission on Local Government Organization and Finance and created or received by Metro.

Series consists of correspondence, inter-departmental memos, plans, reports, research, proposals, and briefs related to Metro’s regarding Metro’s relationship with the Manitoba Hospital Commission. Records document problems facing Metro area hospitals, such as financial strain and bed shortages, as well as Metro’s provision of grants for hospital projects and capital costs.

Series consists of reports, correspondence, plans, promotional materials, unbound meeting minutes, and proposals created and kept by Metro committees and sub-committees, as well as liaison committees formed between Metro and external organizations. Series documents activities related to sinking funds, retirement, property, grants administration, development of a Metropolitan police force, Pan-Am Games, Canadian centennial (1967) and provincial centennial (1970).

Most records are arranged by committee or sub-committee and then in reverse-chronological order to reflect the original order as maintained by Metro’s Executive Director and Chairman of Council. As various committees were responsible for centennial planning and shared certain functions, their records were compiled into thematic folders. Consequently, files related to both the provincial and federal centennial maintain this organization, rather than the committee-based organization found throughout the rest of the series.

The Local Government Boundaries Commission was established by the Provincial Government in 1966 and concluded in 1970. It investigated the local governmental structures within the metropolitan area and identified areas that could be improved. Overall, the commission found that the two-tiered government system functioned well enough to continue. However, the government rejected the Commission’s conclusions were rejected a year after they were published, a decision which led to the creation of Unicity in 1971.

Series consists of correspondence, inter-office memos, submissions, statements, and briefs documenting the commission’s proceedings as they relate to the Metro government.

Series consists of records produced or related to Council operations. Records include presentations, correspondence, plans and pamphlets. Records created or kept by Councillors Albert E. Bennett, R. Darwin Chase, Lawrence E. Ostrander, Peter Taraska and Bernie Wolfe are also included in the series.

Metro’s General Government was composed of its Chairman of Council, the Council Administration (the Executive Director and Secretary’s Department), the Law Department (including Claims), and the Information Research Officer. In 1963, the Personnel Department was transferred from the Finance Division to General Government under the supervision of the Executive Director. During the Metro Decade, Council was led by three Chairman: Richard H.G. Bonnycastle (1960-1966), interim Chairman Lawrence E. Ostrander (1966), and Jack Willis (1966-1971). Metro’s first Chairman was appointed by the Provincial Government for a four-year term. As of 1964, Chairmen were elected by Council. The Chairman of Council decided how the Corporation discharged its responsibilities as assigned to them by the Metropolitan Winnipeg Act. The Chairman discharged these responsibilities to the Executive Director: Elswood F. Bole (1960-1965), J.R. McInnes (1965-1969), and D.I. McDonald (1969-1971). The Executive Director, as Metro’s chief administrative officer, was accountable to the Council. Consequently, he ensured that Council’s instructions were carried out. The Executive Director delegated these instructions to Metro’s divisions. In addition to supervising the divisions, Metro’s Solicitor, Secretary and Information Research Officer were also accountable to the Executive Director.

Series consists of reports, correspondence, plans, briefs, petitions, biographical sketches, photographs, statements and speeches, press releases, studies, legal agreements, staff newsletters, pamphlets, union agreements, organizational charts, and Metro Christmas cards. The series documents the functions of individual positions or offices within the General Government structure, as well as the overall organization and administrative functions of the corporation. Records related to personnel activities and Metro events (including its first anniversary) are also documented throughout the series.

Series includes multiple filing systems and maintains the original order of the records based on their creation or collection by General Government offices and staff. Legal agreements were kept in chronological order based on numbers assigned to each agreement. Series includes an incomplete set of agreements from no. 497-1743. Chronological files were kept in the Chairman’s office starting in 1965. These files documented outgoing correspondence and contain related attachments in reverse-chronological order. Reading Files were kept by the Corporation’s secretary and were compiled by month and year, also in reverse-chronological order. The remaining records in the series were compiled into folders based on the office that created or collected them, followed by a sub-heading based on the function to which each folder related (for example, Personnel Department – Biographical Sketches).