Police board reprimands Ross Eadie

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This article was published 09/06/2017 (3070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Outspoken city councillor Ross Eadie has been reprimanded by the Winnipeg Police Board for his comments about the possible demolition of a North End football stadium to make way for a new police station.

The board’s decision to impose a reprimand — which carries no other discipline — was announced at its meeting Friday morning.

Board chairman David Asper said the board met privately on May 30 — six days after Eadie first raised concerns at a council meeting about the future of the Charlie Krupp Stadium if the police were to construct a new North End station where the football facility stands.

Asper said there were concerns Eadie’s comments on the floor of council and the next day in an interview with the Free Press had breached the code of ethics for police board members.

“By making reckless comments about the supposed loss of the Nomads facility, Councillor Eadie not only breached a confidence, but also subverted a key part of the strategic plan of the Winnipeg Police Board and Service,” Asper said in a written statement he distributed at the start of Friday’s board meeting.

The board’s inquiry appears to have been prompted by a harshly worded public statement issued by Police Chief Danny Smyth May 26, criticizing Eadie for his comments about the possible demolition of the football stadium. Smyth said Eadie had “needlessly inflamed the situation,” with his “unfortunate and disappointing remarks.”

The Old Exhibition Grounds is a 44-acre civic-owned recreational site north of the CPR lines between McPhillips and Sinclair streets, which includes the football stadium, a de-commissioned hockey arena, baseball diamonds, a soccer field and an area informally used as an off-leash dog park.

For 20 years the stadium has been the home field for the North Winnipeg Nomads football club, a non-profit community group that fields six teams for area youths ranging in age from 7 to 22. The Nomads were unaware the city had targeted the facility until contacted by media.

Eadie (Mynarski) said at the time he hadn’t revealed any confidential information given to the board and justified his comments as defending the interests of the football team and the wider North End community, which includes part of his ward.

However, on Friday, Eadie said he realized that part of the information he publicly disclosed had been obtained in a confidential meeting between police and a board committee he sits on, and as a result, accepted the board’s decision to issue him a reprimand.

But Eadie said he has responsibilities as an elected member of council that will occasionally put him in conflict with his obligations as a member of the police board.

“I have to be able to represent my residents that live in my area, and I did so,” Eadie told reporters, adding that in future he may have to recuse himself from some police board meetings where it will put him in a conflict with his role as an elected representative.

Eadie had given the board a written explanation of his actions and met with them on June 8.

Asper said the board members recognized Eadie’s dilemma but believed in this instance he could have dealt with the issue in a different way rather than disclosing confidential board information.

The board was concerned Eadie’s actions had compromised the board’s relationship with police.

The police plan to hold community consultations on the future of the Old Exhibition Grounds, but Eadie failed to disclose that and his comments undermined the consultations, Asper said.

“We felt there were other ways councillor Eadie could advance the interests he represents without undermining the intention of the (police) to do community consultations,” he said. “The issue got inflamed and it made the consultations that were to come potentially seem illusory.”

Eadie was suspended from board activities for three days while the board considered his fate, Asper said.

“It’s an unpleasant part but something we felt was necessary and dealt with it expeditiously, fairly and we moved on,” Asper told reporters following the meeting.

The board was faced with three options after reaching its conclusions, Asper said: reprimand, ask for his resignation or ask council to revoke his appointment.

Asper, only recently appointed to the board, said other members believe Eadie is a valuable member of the board and should remain.

“We have decided to reprimand councillor Eadie and hereby do so with clear caution to him that he must exercise good judgment and recognize when conflicting duties may arise,” Asper said.

Smyth said he was satisfied with the board’s decision and wouldn’t comment further.

While the Old Exhibition Grounds are the best location for a new North End station, the police don’t need the entire 44 acres and the decision hasn’t been made on where it will be located, Smyth said, adding he has no plans to demolish the football stadium to build a police station.

“By no means am I looking to displace what I consider to be a North End institution,” he said, noting the public consultation will help determine where on the grounds the police station will be built.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca