Collectivité

Winnipeg into the Nineties (WIN)

1989-1996

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.

COWA