In this framework, each municipality managed their own affairs, levied their own taxes, and took responsibility for local roads, water, and parks.
[8] The Unicity model thus sought to make such matters more efficient and coordinated, by centralizing service delivery and administration while equalizing property taxes and decentralizing the political process.
[9]: vii The Unicity reforms were originally proposed by the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) government, led by Edward Schreyer, elected in 1969.
"[14] However, the unicity reforms as actually enacted were far from those laid out in the NDP's original December 1970 white paper on the subject ("Proposals for Urban Reorganization in the Greater Winnipeg Area").
[further explanation needed] Then-Mayor of Winnipeg Stephen Juba played an integral role in the amalgamation project.
Juba argued for direct election, a view that proved to be popular, and pushed the continuation of the office of the mayor as a strong executive that is independent of the City Council.
[3] Though officially joined in 1972, the total amalgamation of all areas and their respective civic departments (e.g. police) was not completed until years later, taking place in stages after considerable research and consultation.
[21] The scale of this operation was due to the fact that each former municipality had its own civil service with its own seniority lists, pension plans, benefits, classification systems, and collective agreements with employees.
The various Police Departments continued working as independent forces, each still maintaining their own radio system, stations, and distinct uniforms.
The remaining police forces at this time were those of Winnipeg, Fort Garry, St. Boniface, St. James-Assiniboia, St. Vital, and Transcona—each of whom continued working out of their own stations and wearing their respective shoulder flashes.
The other districts became:[4][22] When this final amalgamation took place, the force nearly doubled with the authorized strength of 1975 at 921 officers and 171 staff—excluding 35 Commissionaires for parking patrol.
Effective January 1975, all officers were required to be wearing the new Winnipeg Police Department shoulder flashes, "One With The Strength of Many", thereby completing the transition to a new force.
"[38] This may have been inevitable, since the incorporation of so many large suburban areas into a unicity naturally increased the political clout of the suburbs at the expense of the old City of Winnipeg.
These reductions have garnered pushback: according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, "One of the cornerstones of Unicity was the assurance to all citizens that amalgamation would not reduce resident involvement in civic politics.