Giant Tiger to Close Two Winnipeg Locations

When Sobeys took over Safeway in 2013, they were forces to divest some stores to get federal approval. One of the Safeways sold was at 1441 Main Street. Red River Co-op decided it was a good time to get back in the grocery market and picked up some of those locations such as Grant Park and the Main Street location.

Things seemed to be doing well with the Red River Co-Op but then managers indicated that the landlord did not re-new their lease and lo, and behold Giant Tiger was the new tenant. Red River was so perturbed that they set up a stand alone Co-Op pharmacy in the building next door. It remains to this day.

It is being reported that Giant Tiger is looking to close the same store they fought so hard to get on Main Street this July. Also to be closed is long time Giant Tiger at 305 McPhillips. This might be cleaning up a but following the purchase of the franchises of the North West Company who had western Canada Giant Tigers. The corporate re-purchase could also have nothing to do with things. It could be the security of the stores is in question and that the company feels they can't can't make money there anymore. The point is we will not know. However, what will happen is that Giant Tiger will go from 10 stores down to 8. And Main will lose a grocery that a lot of people use.

Will Red River Co-Op be first in line to go for the property again? Or will the grocer even trust the landlord again? They have kept the pharmacy on Main even after all this time. It seems terribly unfair to this part of Main Street that they keep losing retailers. Perhaps we will get some clarity as to the reason.

The other location a 305 McPhillips has been in place for a long time. Is security there an issue as well? Who knows? Some stores in this city are under siege. Food Fare is constantly have difficulty. Staff and customers are getting hurt. 

Expect more news on this and more in the coming days.

Graham Avenue to Convert to Non-Bus Way

Consultations continue but one thing for sure will happen to Graham Avenue and that is in 2025 it will no longer be used for buses. The design for the streets seems to be designating into four zones. Some of the businesses hear the former Bay are alarmed that they lose their parking as well as loading zones. They should be. The design thus far is dominated by continuous bike path. Road traffic, just as it is now, is generally not for cars. However, parts of the road are reduced even more. There is nothing left on the south side for loading or parking. Nothing.

Bike paths might just sail past empty storefronts. It would be preferable to reduce speeds on Graham and really share the road but there seems to be a determination to not put in two way traffic along most streets in the downtown. Assiniboine Avenue is going through a similar thing. The street has not been normal for years due to lengthy construction and changes to its design.

The changes to Winnipeg Transit are still confusing and the consultations don't seem to have covered all the possible implications of changes. The Southwest Transit Corridor is still not fully realized. They sent it for a jog down Parker and then dragged their feet about housing along it for more than a decade.

Graham Avenue's businesses need some parking and loading to be successful. This doesn't mean there is no room for wider sidewalks or even a bike path but, while the plan includes a double bike path for the full extent of the street, the plan does not include a road for vehicles all the way through. There is still not enough information about bus routes are changing at this point as well to how they affect other streets.

Pre-Pandemic Graham Avenue would have buses lined up so long that it was possible to walk atop of them for a few blocks as they were that packed together. With so government workers still at home, it is uncertain if the dynamic will change. Still, there is a growing number of apartments being built and will continue to go up in the next years. It is unknown if the people moving in are living and working downtown or what their commuting needs are going forward. These are things that will reveal themselves as a neighbourhood develops.

The history of pedestrian corridors is now always a good one. Sparks Street in Ottawa is very quiet on weekends. Attempts to liven it up have not worked. Government offices line both sides of it so pre-pandemic it was busy in the week. But with so many working from home, it has been a problem. This has to be considered in regards to Graham Avenue. It can't have dead zones or areas that are blocked off for concerts or festivals that make me people have to detour even if they are on bikes. I've seen Sparks on weekends and that is not what we want downtown to look like.

A great deal of thought needs to be put into Graham. It has to be a multi-use street and more sidewalk and bike consideration needs to be made. However, it is preferable to reduce speed on the street and make it two way rather than ban cars from large stretches of it. Will anyone listen to the businesses? They worry that a bike lane and foot traffic will not replace the missing people coming to their businesses.

 

Birchwood Terrace Evacuated St. James

The Birchwood Terrace is a sprawling apartment of 171 units built in 1962 at 2440 Portage Avenue when the St. James area around Moray Street was booming. The apartment was one of many that were going up along this stretch and with a Safeway at the time just down the street and bus stops able to take people downtown, it made for a very busy area. Ladco owned by the Borger family owns the apartment as well as the Holiday Inn Airport West.

Many apartments in the area have been undergoing renovations so it should not have come as a surprise over the months to various vans outside from companies appearing to working. For those living in the building, the attention looked like the underground parkade. Little did anyone know the engineers were increasingly alarmed by the stability of the structure.

Late Thursday a decision was made and at 7:30 and through till 8 PM, people were told they had 12 hours to get out because there was a fear of collapse. How anyone could make arrangements then is anyone's guess. Most stores were getting ready to close, most rental truck places as well. Could you pack everything you own in 12 hours?

In a meeting last night, over 100 residents listened to the developments that led to their leases being terminated and being told to leave. Many seemed numb with shock, sleeplessness and a range of emotions. U-Haul has given a few month of rent for those displaced at their facility on Notre Dame. Where so many people will move to is a mystery.  The shortage is rental accommodation has gotten critical even though there are buildings being constructed all over the city. 

Winnipeg is 150 years old this year. Buildings, houses and infrastructure are a growing refurbishment need. The city let its own Civic Parkade and Public Safety Building deteriorated to the point where they had to be demolished. The Winnipeg Square parkade was in need of refurbishment and the city sold it. And the Millennium Library parkade is in desperate need but it looks like they will actually fix it.

The point is that a lot of places in Winnipeg require maintenance.  Even the city lets things slide until the only option is to close. It isn't a good look and in this case, could have led to people being hurt. It still might in the case of Birchwood. It is hurting in terms of the terrible displacement of people.

The collapse of a residential building in Florida is still fresh in mind. Some of the thoughts on the engineering failure was thought to be that it was by the ocean but there was a lot of focus on the swimming pool as well. Birchwood Terrace has a swimming pool but there doesn't seem to be any engineering focus thus far other than the parkade support beams. 

Fencing went up around the building Saturday. It is apparent by many balconies that quite a few people have not been able to clear their belongings in the short time allowed. Security is present. Owners gave a time limit since once work begins, it is not safe to be inside. It is a big question whether people just leave items and hope the building stays okay so they can return in however long it takes. Some said till next year.

Rick Bowness Retires from Winnipeg Jets

The newest version of Winnipeg Jets doesn't fire all that many head coaches. Claude Noel was the first and last coach fired by the Jets. Interim Coach Dave Lowry wasn't fire inasmuch as he was not offered the head coach job was he completed the year where Paul Maurice stepped down. And now Rick Bowness retires after an excellent regular season but shaky play-off run.

This past season for the Jets brought back a level of excitement and achievement. The winning streak, the defensive game, the team effort was all part of a style that Rick Bowness had developed over five decades as a coach.

It is not easy to win Stanley Cups and Bowness didn't win one even with two appearances in the finals. Fans in Winnipeg seemed very mature about defeat compared to the much less happy Toronto fans. The Jets have the misfortune to be in the toughest division in the NHL. All season we see sawed back and forth between the top teams. We just didn't have another gear for the playoffs.

It was disappointing but I, like many others, really enjoyed this season and the new players brought on board and those in the system coming up. Bowness really got a lot out of the team but given his health challenges and that of his wife this year, it likely felt it would be hard to commit to an option year or an extension. He has coached the most games in history of the NHL and is the oldest coach in the NHL. 

The Jets now have a very good team and could attract a very good coach although a few major market teams out are prepared to pay big money for a coach. That doesn't mean Jets will not pay well but it has to be a good match. Even now, teams like Toronto are firing coaches. Jets may find a few coaches out there that are interesting but they also might just keeping Scott Arniel in the job is the way to go.

The Jets are a very loyal team but a coaching decision is a tough one. Rick Bowness created a successful style for the season and a few players added by Chevy made it even better. I suspect the question asked of Arniel will be how to get to the team deep into the playoffs.

Bowness was with the Jets in the 1.0 version as coach and back to Jets in the 2.0 version. Kind of legendary. The Stanley Cup. Arniel was there too as a player and Moose coach. These guys have deep connections to the city of Winnipeg and understand its fans. It will be interesting to see how they honour Bowness next season and who they chose as coach for the new year. 

 

CancerCare Headquarters Expansion Courtesy of Big Tobacco

In 2016, Premier Greg Selinger announced CancerCare Manitoba's expansion as part of a series of announcements ahead of the election. He subsequently lost the election and Pallister cancelled the expansion and instead introduced cuts and consolidation. This past election in 2023, the NDP under Wak Kinew also promised CancerCare's expansion. This time the NDP won and the insurance policy to carry it forward was the longtime lawsuit against tobacco companies by all the provinces over the costs to the healthcare system as a result of smoking. Manitoba's share, expected in the next 12 months, is likely to be half a billion.

The above illustration was the plan in 2016. It was to take over the land of the former space across the street and voila, a new building. A cost wasn't really talked about, however, the Women's Hospital that was just built cost $233 million and took from 2007 till 2019 to get done. These things don't come quickly or cheaply. 

The new Calgary cancer hospital is to cost $1.5 billion. I don't expect those type of costs for the new CancerCare building in Winnipeg but the plans might be more expansive than originally forecast. The space where Manitoba Clinic was is quite big. In the last 10 years, CancerCare has raised tens of millions from donations so they have been awaiting this project for some time.

The Calgary hospital expansion asked the people what should be included aside from the clinical needs. The building design is beautiful and has many aspects of greenery and design to please those going through a tough time. The present CancerCare building is nice but not exactly beautiful. The area across the street has been used for lunch events and the like but no one has to remind people just how unfriendly the streets have been the last few years around HSC.

The HSC and adjoining University of Manitoba downtown campus occupy 39 acres. Two hotels are associated with the complex, Canadian Blood Services is across the street and the Cadham Provincial Laboratory along with the Manitoba Clinic are adjacent. The National Microbiology Laboratory is a baseball throw away.  Still, compared to Toronto where City Hall, the provincial legislature, the University of Toronto, the hospital sector, the law courts and Eaton Centre are all very close, HSC is much farther away from downtown. Winnipeg is very spread out. And HSC resides in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada.

One new hospital is not going to rehabilitate a whole neighbourhood. It certainly hasn't for the new Women's Hospital but it certainly has improved the maternity care in Manitoba. What is needed though is a CancerCare Hospital that feels safe and secure both inside and out. When the General Hospital expanded out to William Avenue, it lost a lot of green space. The Children's Hospital borders right up to the sidewalk and is not very street friendly. It is just a wall with high windows.

If there is any hope for the area, sympathy for the street has to go into the construction. It can't be like Portage Place presently which turns its back on Portage Avenue. Windows should be able to let light in and entrances shouldn't feel like turning into an alley. As assault can take place right outside Children's Hospital and no one on the inside could see or hear it. Blind spots and wind tunnels are not very people friendly.

It will be interesting to see if the design of the new CancerCare HQ will be getting a tweaking after so many years. Not to mention some public input on how it looks and feels on the site. McDermott can be attractive given how many students are present with the medical school, nursing school, pharmacy school and dental school present. All told ten university buildings on a tree-lined street. CancerCare also faces out to the street and will be building immediately across from their present facility. Pre-pandemic, the street was often filled with vendors and people enjoying lunch outside.

The safety and security issues can't be overlooked but CancerCare has to make sure they are part of the vitality of HSC. The new security detail at the campus has to make sure that people feel comfortable both inside and out of the building. The danger is making all of HSC a fortress instead of a social and economic driver of the neighbourhood. However, it is tough with a number of burned out buildings just steps away that never seem to get rehabilitated. A lot of businesses have closed in the last few years along Notre Dame as well. The aftermath of the pandemic has been painful.

It will be good to see the open space of the re-located Manitoba Clinic filled with CancerCare's building. It is much needed as we continue to make progress on raising the lifespans of those who rely on early detection, treatment and sustaining those who need the services of specialty trained health professionals. Let's hope the wait is not nearly as long as it was to get Women's Hospital built.

Do Boycotts Work?

Do boycotts work? In short...yes and no.

One of the more prominent boycotts was against South Africa and apartheid. It lasted 35 years and even now, one can question whether it was effective at bringing change on the policy in 1994. To some extent, South Africa was not hobbled by the boycott. They made the change in large part because they chose to make it.

The Montgomery bus boycotts in the U.S. over Rosa Park being asked to move in a segregated bus was more effective and in 1956, the buses in this part of Alabama were integrated. Change happened quicker because of the effectiveness of the boycott and the inability of the bus company to operate with so many customers not using their service.

That is the rub of boycotts. If some people continue to do business with those being boycotted, the ability to change things diminishes. Case in point, sanctions and boycotts of Russia have not compelled them to change their ways on territorial expansion or rigging world games for their athletes. Too many have bought their oil or sold them weapons so that that the economic effect has been blunted.

This is not to say that there is no choice but to do carry on normally with organizations and countries. People make choices all the time. We just don't call it boycotts. For example, some people stop going to a store when they stop carrying the brand they like. It helps to tell a company why you are not seeing them anymore. If they stop carrying Sprite, let them know you won't be back till they do.

A boycott in Canada of Loblaw's for one month may or may not be effective if people don't know what all of the companies owned by the parent are. For example, if you don't go to Real Canadian Superstore but go to No Frills, you have failed. Some people have said straight out that while they are upset with Loblaw's, they are still cheaper than other options.

The big question is whether a boycott is to change behaviour or to just hurt sales numbers of an organization. If it is to change behaviour, it might work if everyone stays on message. In Canada, the boycott against Loblaw's has people advocating for taking things from stores which organizers do not want to associate with. If organizers meet with Loblaw's they need to focus on things like discounted items. 

Loblaw's has gotten so big that a boycott will be less effective than more timely investigations of grocers and suppliers fixing prices as we saw with bread. It took the government 13 years to fine one company $50 million. That is painfully slow. They are investigating meat now but if we go on the same timetable, it is worth it for a company to carry on like there are no consequences. Think about that every time you buy chicken, beef and pork. A boycott does little because the price is the same across different companies by design. Only government regulations can get to the bottom of it because competition doesn't exist.

Palestinian supporters have tried a BDS campaign against Israel. It stands for boycott, divest and sanctions. Three countries have taken up the cause and a few others have broken relations with Israel in last few weeks. The 20 plus year campaign though pre-supposes that only Israel is to blame for what is happening and the answer is for Jews to leave the territory. It is couched in terms of de-colonization and that Jews have no right at all to the area. They are settlers. Things quickly dissolve into anti-Semitism. Any two state thinking is dismissed. Any thinking that Hamas Palestinian leaders might try something different than pushing Jews into he sea is not accepted.

Subsequently, after 20 years plus, Palestinian BDS campaigns have been largely unsuccessful. A boycott is not going to force Israel to do anything. And it deceives people into believing that no diplomacy is needed. All that has to happen is for Israel to be abandoned for everything to be right in the world. The Palestinian/Israeli conflict will only reach some sort of outcome through negotiation. It is unlikely either side will achieve total success militarily or through sanctions and boycotts.

Presently, the Israeli government believes it can defeat Hamas completely, That seems a tough nut. The most meaningful peace agreements they have come by historically has taken great effort, timing and negotiation. And Hamas should not take comfort in their strategy with protests at campuses in North America and elsewhere. Israel will still defend itself if attacked.

So to sum up, boycotts can work if the objective is to change behaviour and the demands are focused. But much of the time demands are unfocused and angry and least of all, sympathetic. Having said that, I will shop elsewhere for the month of May than Loblaw's if no other reason than I believe they and others can do better. However, I am also pushing the federal government to not allow any more mergers that would not help consumers. I especially want the to to use the regulatory authority they already have to stop uncompetitive practices.

Starbucks Osborne Village Temporarily Closes

A sign in the window says Starbucks Osborne Village is closing temporarily. This has led to all sorts of rumours. Some said it is because they don't have a drive-thru. Some said because of safety reasons. The one thing no one is saying is that there was not enough foot traffic. It is a very busy corner with some anchor stores right there as well as parking.

Starbuck has been having a difficult few years. The business model was not heavy on drive-thrus and in the pandemic that didn't work. The Starbucks within bookstores was also bad in this environment. And lastly, they had a lot of locations and their prices were higher than other coffee companies. Add all this up and there are a lot of corporate reasons Starbucks might close. However, this seems different. If it is a crime issue, the company should say so.

There was an assault just the night before steps away from the entrance. This might have been the final straw. Staff from the store are being transferred to other locations which makes it feel like this is something that could be indefinite.  Crime statistics are out of control for the area. There has been a 100% rise in overall crime according to the numbers. Drugs are out of control. Violence is out of control. Even where there are many people present, there is a threat of being attacked. And this isn't just hysterical talk. This is what is happening and what the Osborne Biz is reporting.

There are some good news stories for Osborne. The cat cafe is set to open soon. Some of the new residential units with ground floor commercial units are set to open. However, if addictions and violence continue to affect the area, even very well attended coffee shops might decide to close rather than have someone hurt.

The interviews from people on the street are downright gloomy. Businesses right across the street say they have been broken into in the last days. Seems like police could sit in the area and make a hundred arrests in only a few days. And that might be what needs to happen.  It isn't just a case of helping people with their addictions. We have real safety and violence issues and whatever sympathy someone might have, it can't come at the sacrifice of their personal security and safety. 

Major arrests have been made on dugs and trafficking. Good on Winnipeg Police on that. Lots of money, cars and guns are off the street. They are being pretty cagey about it all but we are likely to see it wind through the courts. It takes months to set these things up and the costs are high. But one vehicle taken by the police was just under half a million. There is a lot of money apprehended by the police and drug route that has been closed.

Police and addictions counsellors though say a drop in the supply equals more desperation though and the use of even more toxic stuff. As for Osborne Village, as the weather warms up it could see more encampments nearby that could be difficult for the community. Even as more efforts are made to find people homes, the sheer volume of addictions threatens to overwhelm. 

The people interviewed all seemed saddened and shocked. There has been a steady stream of long term businesses leaving even as building continues. The helpless feeling was pervasive. Crime will kill the Osborne Village and many other areas if the city can't get a handle on things. You just can't be in a line at the liquor store and get choked or at Shoppers and get stabbed. We'll see what the response is from elected officials. There are a lot of NDP members in the area and city councillors know that Osborne is not the only area in serious trouble.

Work Begins at Kapyong Naawi Oodena

It is 20 long years of waiting for something to happen on the former Kapyong Barracks. One wonders if things had proceeded promptly back then whether First Nations and Canada Lands Corporation (the federal Crown) might have signed IKEA up to locate here. I strongly suspect it would have. Highly likely that Superstore and Safeway would have relocated there as well.

Nothing to do about it now. Construction has started on the first section at the corner of Taylor and Kenaston in one of the smallest segments. It will be a gas station and likely a smoke shop. Not entirely glamourous but probably a necessary step to bring in capital for the First Nations. Commercial development is required for the long term investment to pay off. Presently, between the St. James Bridge and the Perimeter there are only a small number of gas stations along Kenaston. Considering the traffic along it, it isn't a bad idea for the station. However, between Superstore and Costco, prices are pretty competitive. There is very little room for a station always higher than those stores.

It is uncertain how long other announcements will be. The most ideal spots for initial development are along Taylor. A hotel and residential apartments are probably an upcoming announcement. As it stands now, we might not see some of the commercial development arrive until January 2025 and in the months that follow. If the city wishes to pay for additional lanes alone Route 90, they are running out of time. The First Nations may wish to get the capital from this purchase but there is no evidence that the city or the province has the budget to buy more road lanes along Kenaston.

It is for this reason that we might see slower development along the corridor. Gas stations and commercial leases are reliable ways to earn income for what is to come next. You can see that at Madison where a Petro-Canada and a Wyndham Hotel have gone up. The $21 million plus construction and the office complex surrounding it is a long term investment that should pay off in the Polo Park area,

Initial plans for Kapyong site seem to include two hotels. Given the very few numbers of hotels in the city's southwest, this is probably a good bet. However, two hotels are likely to come in at $40 million plus easily and take two years to build each.

Recreation facilities and health facilities are listed as coming but details are light at that the time about what they are how, how much they will cost and when they go up. It seems hockey rinks could be highly sought out but are not presently listed. Again, it could be a question of money. And nothing will happen with any real speed. It has taken Seasons of Tuxedo ten years of construction and they are still building this year with a few sections left to do.

Housing is the key to any development now. The government estimates that Canada as a while needs nearly 4 million housing units and we are way behind. While it might seem a like a lot is being built in Winnipeg and across the province, it is still too slow compared to the demand. 

Canada Lands Corporation is likely to make announcements as well for building. They are the federal Crown and own a significant amount of the Kapyong lands. Given the Trudeau government's desire to kickstart housing, it is very likely these federally owned lands will take greater importance in the weeks and months ahead.

In Vienna, it is government owned land and government-led housing development that keeps prices low. There is a 1% tax that guarantees millions spent every year for the last 100 years. A two bedroom apartment in Vienna is $500 Canadian. The Austrians have felt supply is the key metric and not demand to keeping prices down. They are right. The one thing that will help reduce prices is to go beyond demand. And subsidize their building and keep building.

The Naawi Oodena is the type of infill housing that is required to meet the housing needs of the province. What will also be required is more public transportation. It simply isn't on to add several lanes of traffic. Frankly, it is impossible unless a lot of housing is demolished along Kenaston to do it. Not to mention creating turning lanes and blocking traffic from crossing Kenaston at various intersections. Any plan thus far shown seems likely to not solve the problems of congestion and in fact may hurt River Heights and Tuxedo and several others areas south to the perimeter.

It might be that the former Kapyong Barracks might be well under way before any transportation plan is ever full realized. The sad thing is that they had 20 years to plan for it and have done nothing about it even now.