City of Brandon open house takes ‘racist’ turn

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This article was published 29/03/2023 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — The City of Brandon has paused public engagement sessions about its new city plan following a confrontation described by city manager Ron Bowles as “highly charged and racist.”

The open house, held Friday, was held so the public could learn more about the city’s plan to develop and expand over the next 30 years.

The event took a turn for the worse when several people accused the city of wasting tax dollars on “unnecessary” bike lanes and walking paths, and of trying to implement a “15-minute city” plan.

Part of the confrontation was recorded in a 30-minute video taken by Rick Macl, owner of The Shed Cannabis store, and posted to his Facebook page.

“We already know what’s going on. This is not a hidden agenda here. We all know about this 15-minute city thing,” Macl can be heard saying in the video to Brandon community planner Sonikile Tembo, who has been hosting the open houses.

“You guys can’t even keep the roads up to snuff, and you think you’re going to add a bike path and take care of that, too?” Macl says in the video.

Bowles said in a written statement Tuesday that comments made to city staff during the open house were unacceptable and took a racist and sexist tone.

“City staff were treated inappropriately with racial and age-based discriminatory comments. The city will continue on the pathway to establish a city plan that represents our entire community, not a fringe group or (a) racist few.”

The Brandon Sun was unable to make out specific racist comments made by Macl, though several voices overlapped in the video, often inaudibly. Macl’s voice is the most noticeable in the video, which generally did not record people’s faces. Several other voices can be heard in the room.

Also clear is the voice of Tembo — a person of colour who took the brunt of the harsh questioning — as she tried to explain the basic tenets of the city’s plan and dispel misconceptions. She repeatedly invited those in the room to share their comments with the city through the survey process.

“I am concerned you are doing something illegitimate underneath this plan,” said one woman who accused the city of wanting to restrict her movements. She alluded to a 15-minute city plan that several in the group asserted was being implemented in large cities across the country.

Another person believed that, under Brandon’s growth strategy, the community might be divided into quadrants, with expensive new hospitals built in each area that could be accessed on foot or by bicycle.

At several points, Macl expresses feeling bad for “the poor girl” — presumably Tembo — for being alone at the community centre when faced with several people who “have concerns” with the city’s plans, and wonders why the city was not more prepared to have people on hand to answer questions.

On Tuesday, Bowles and Mayor Jeff Fawcett confirmed that two councillors, Shawn Berry and Bruce Lueeubke, attended the meeting, and defended the city plan. Berry is heard defending the city plan in the video, stating it “helps us with growth as we go forward.”

The video was reposted by the host of a local Facebook page dedicated to supporting the so-called freedom convoy movement, who has been outspoken about his dislike of the 15-minute city concept.

On Tuesday, Macl denied he had tried to intimidate city staff, and expressed concern that people “blow stuff out of proportion.”

He further stated he felt bad for the lone city staffer who was faced by a mostly hostile crowd of about 35 people, according to his estimation.

Macl apologized for coming across as “intense.”

“Yes, I am a hard pill to swallow. And I am a very open and loud talker, and I talk really fast. That’s my ADHD.”

Fawcett, who has seen the video, said the confrontation came as a surprise to city staff and to Tembo. The mayor expressed his own concerns that a vocal segment of the population misunderstands what a city plan is meant to do, and that offering people the freedom to choose whether to drive, cycle or walk to amenities has nothing to do with taking away freedom of movement.

“If you lived across the city, to visit your parents? Like my goodness, that’s never even crossed our minds. It’s completely irrational that you couldn’t go see someone in the city. It’s just irrational.”

Tembo declined to comment.

— Brandon Sun