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Harvey Smith fell and broke his hip last week in front of city hall after returning from the University of Winnipeg. Smith, seen here in a file photo, was at the university protesting the impending transit fare hike.

City councillor Harvey Smith slipped and broke his hip last week, a day before he was to speak to the mayor’s executive policy committee about a new website on city road and sidewalk conditions.

The Daniel McIntyre councillor fell on Main Street outside city hall Jan. 31, his assistant Chris Hurley confirmed.

 Smith had been returning from the University of Winnipeg where he had been participating in a protest about the impending 20-cent transit fare hike, Hurley said.

Ironically, Smith, chair of the city’s safety committee, had been scheduled to speak in front of EPC on Feb. 1 about SureFoot, a website expected to launch this week with daily updates on winter walking conditions across the city, Hurley said.

The site would publish a "falls alert index" for problem spots, he said.

"It is a study of the problem sections of the sidewalks and streets… and to encourage safer choices and reduce slip and fall injuries," Hurley said.

Smith, 75, underwent surgery at the Health Sciences Centre to repair a broken femur. The councillor remains in good spirits, Hurley said.

"His wheels were spinning already in the morning," said Hurley, noting Smith had called the next day for updates on his scheduled meetings and to ask for a battery charger for his phone.

Doctors indicated it will take four to six weeks for the bone to heal, Hurley said, but it’s unknown how long Smith will have to remain in the hospital.

 Hurley encouraged constituents to keep calling with their concerns, as Smith plans to continue working.

"I don’t want to pressure him with details… I’m pretty sure I can keep the workload balanced," Hurley said.

Coun. Grant Nordman (St. Charles), who also serves as council speaker and is chair of the governance committee, said Smith will be granted a leave of absence for meetings he is unable to attend.

It’s a similar policy employed when former councillors Harry Lazarenko and Brenda Leipsic left due to illness years ago, he said.

"Harvey, after he’s convalesced from the hospital, I’m sure he’ll have his faculties," he said. "It’s nothing significant. Whether it was Harvey, or the youngest of council, Browaty, it would be the same."

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