Old Market Autonomous Zone

Since July 20th, the City of Winnipeg unilaterally ceased all garbage collection from 91 Albert Street, as well as other buildings in the immediate area. The alleged reason for this was violations of the Anti-Litter By-law, though no specific infraction was noted and no option to correct any possible infractions was given. No alternative solution was put in place before this happened, which predictably led to an increase in garbage on city streets, as countless businesses, studios, offices, and residences in the area were suddenly left without garbage pick-up! The City and BIZ Exchange are both promoting the “solution” that all businesses ought to share the costs of private sector collection. In effect, they have unilaterally privatized an essential service that the City ostensibly collects taxes to provide.

Simultaneously, the City Planning Dept., members of the BIZ Exchange, as well as City Councilor Pagtakhan, have been renewing their pressure on the building to consent to a zero-tolerance policy on graffiti. Pagtakhan (who also sits on the BIZ board) had previously launched a personal media campaign to single out 91 Albert, and he has apparently renewed his efforts, no doubt at the behest of the BIZ and those businesses which have an exclusively upscale vision of what the Exchange District ought to be.

Along with ongoing efforts to crack down on panhandlers and homeless people in the area, these recent actions related to garbage collection and graffiti suggest an intensified effort is underway to gentrify the Exchange District. The twin goals of cutting back on social services, and doing the bidding of the private sector, have led to a situation in which there is no longer an essential public service in the area. It has also led to a campaign to “whitewash” the area (both in terms of getting rid of graffiti and “unsightly” garbage, but also in terms of pushing out panhandlers and homeless people) to meet the aesthetic tastes of a vocal and upscale business community that believes it alone has the right to determine the future of the Old Market district.