The Winnipeg Sun decided to have some fun with Winnipeggers and ran this as a front page story today.
I thought you guys might find it amusing..
Greener pastures
Saskatoon poised to steal our Ikea development
By TOM BRODBECK | Winnipeg Sun - April 1, 2009
Will opposition in Winnipeg force Ikea to relocate proposed store to Saskatchewan? (Sun Media Photo Illustration) Plans to bring an Ikea store to Winnipeg as part of an ambitious mega-retail development along Kenaston Boulevard have hit a major roadblock, the Winnipeg Sun has learned.
And the Swedish furniture giant is now rethinking whether Winnipeg is the right location for the company's planned Prairie expansion.
Area residents and several social activist groups opposed to the plan are planning a number of legal challenges to block -- or at least delay -- the proposed Tuxedo Yards Redevelopment.
And that delay could scuttle the entire deal, sources at city hall say.
"This is very disappointing," the source said. "This will put the entire project in serious jeopardy."
Letter of the law
The groups claim recent changes to Plan Winnipeg that were required to give the project the green light were made illegally because a number of steps -- including a lack of proper notice for public hearings -- were ignored.
"This has to do with process and it has to do with following the letter of the law," said Ned Stevenson, who heads the newly formed group Citizens for Accountable Urban Planning. "You can't just throw all the rules out the window because some big corporation wants to come into your city and sell furniture." The group, along with several other petitioners, are planning a series of court injunctions this week to block the architectural and environmental assessment phases of the plan, which were scheduled to begin next month now that city council has approved the project.
"We're not against development but we object to the city violating due process," said Stevenson. "City hall has suspended its own rules, rammed this down our throats and we're taking a stand on it."
Sources at city hall say the legal challenges represent a significant threat to the project.
"Ikea's corporate culture is such that they don't like controversy and they don't like community opposition," said the city hall source. "They're not used to this kind of push-back -- they're usually greeted with open arms." Ikea has been eyeing a Prairie expansion for several years in order to better penetrate the western Canadian market.
Both Winnipeg and Saskatoon were identified as possible locations. Ikea selected Winnipeg because of its greater density.
However, a booming Saskatchewan economy has improved Saskatoon's standing in the competition for an Ikea store.
Also, the City of Saskatoon has offered the retail giant a number of financial incentives, including property tax exemptions and employment training grants.
"There's been no opposition whatsoever to an Ikea in Saskatoon," the city hall source said. "Unlike in Winnipeg, they've rolled out the red carpet for them." Company officials could not be reached for comment.
However, several city councillors say privately they plan to meet with CAUP and other disgruntled groups to try to address their concerns and persuade them to drop their legal challenges.
"Ikea can go into any city in North America that it wants," said one city councillor on condition of anonymity. "They've picked this city and now -- in typical Winnipeg fashion -- we're going to delay this thing so long that they're going to pack up their briefcases and start planning for a Saskatoon development."
Stevenson denies his group is trying to scuttle the Ikea deal. He says their objective is simply to play a good old-fashioned April Fool's joke on readers.
"We're not against Ikea," said Stevenson. "It's just that today is April 1st and we thought this would be a good April Fool's joke." Gotcha.
Send your complaints to
wpgsun.letters@sunmedia.ca
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NOT AGAIN!
If the proposed Ikea development actually does move to Saskatoon, it'll be the latest in a series of things our formerly have-not neighbours to the west have stolen from us in recent years.
- Back in July, Saskatoon and Regina were selected to host the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship, beating out a joint bid by Winnipeg and Brandon.
- Who can forget the 2007 Grey Cup, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 on the strength of a blown interception call by the refs. Not that we're still bitter, though.
- In statistics released yesterday, Saskatoon and Regina have the fastest-growing economies in the country. The city they beat out for the title? Winnipeg, of course.
- Even our status as Canada's violent crime capital isn't safe. In a recent report by Maclean's magazine, Winnipeg was rated the second most dangerous city in Canada, just behind -- you guessed it -- Saskatoon.
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... or he likes Swedish furniture.
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