Public works chairwoman to send councillor’s ‘bicycle nazis’ comment to integrity commissioner

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This article was published 11/04/2024 (519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city’s public works chairwoman says she’ll take her colleague’s comments to the integrity commissioner after Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt described a local organization as ‘bicycle nazis.’

After a presentation from Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe on safety measures for cyclists Tuesday, Wyatt, who said he was frustrated with the group’s demands, said “a bicycle nazi wants to take away all the lanes for the cars” before being cut off.

Public works chairwoman Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said she did not call out the comment because she didn’t hear it — but she did use her gavel six times to “rein in” Wyatt’s conduct during the meeting.

“Sometimes, there’s just lots going on, and, to be frank, sometimes I just tune the guy out,” she said Thursday.

She said she’s bringing the issue to the integrity commissioner to make clear the comment was inappropriate.

“When someone uses the term nazi and calls (someone) a nazi, I’ve got to respond to that,” she said.

Wyatt apologized for the remark after Bike Winnipeg called on him to be removed from the public works committee in a news release the following day. Mayor Scott Gillingham called the comments “completely unacceptable” Wednesday.

Wyatt said he sent Wednesday’s apology to the integrity commissioner and reached out to Lukes to discuss it.

“Whether she files or not, I’ll still continue to work with councillor Lukes,” Wyatt said.

According to the City of Winnipeg website, the integrity commissioner’s role is to investigate complaints made about council members that breach code of conduct, assist councillors in identifying possible conflicts of interest and ethical misconduct, and to oversee the city’s voluntary lobbyist registry. The office was created in 2017 and litigator Sherri Walsh was appointed integrity commissioner that same year. She remains in the role.

Lukes said while removing a councillor from a committee was possible, it would require input from the integrity commissioner, governance committee and a full council vote. It’s not something she has seen happen in her time at city hall.

She said she wasn’t sure how she would vote if it was brought forward.

“This is the thing. Councillor Wyatt, from a public works, engineering and historic perspective, he does — when he’s there, when he’s focused — he does bring great value. Because he is very smart,” she said.

Wyatt said he’ll follow up with the commissioner and suggested the response from Lukes was political in nature.

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“Councillor Lukes is a well-known conservative who’s contemplating the (federal) nomination for the Conservatives down in the Winnipeg South riding and I think there’s a bit of politics at play because of the fact that I’ve reached out to the NDP federally,” he said.

Lukes denounced the accusation as “hilarious.”

Wyatt said on Facebook Tuesday he was in discussions with the federal NDP about possibly running for the Elmwood-Transcona seat recently vacated by New Democrat Daniel Blaikie. A byelection date has yet to be announced.

Section 9 of council’s code of conduct says all members have a “duty to treat members of the public, one another, city staff and their own staff with respect and without abuse, harassment, or intimidation.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.