Ex-police chief wants to run for Tories in Brandon

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Days after retiring as Brandon police chief, Wayne Balcaen has announced he is seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination for Brandon West in the fall provincial election.

His last day as head of the Brandon Police Service was Friday.

Balcaen joins James Montgomery, former Brandon Riverbank general manager, in contention for the nomination.

Current MLA Reg Helwer is retiring from politics after representing the constituency since 2011.

Flanked by his family, Balcaen told supporters at a private room in Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill in Brandon that he cut short his policing career by about four months.

Though he said he has lived all of his life in Brandon East, that constituency already has a candidate, Len Isleifson, the sitting MLA, who was present at the announcement.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to continue to serve my community at a different level,” Balcaen said. “I have a strong history of public service, and I bring a strong voice to our community.”

In an interview after the announcement, Balcaen said he tried to be apolitical during his policing career and that politics is new to him.

He said his decision to run for the Progressive Conservatives was influenced by working with the party for six years as police chief.

“I’m very appreciative of their policies on justice,” he said. “It’s not just about arresting people and putting them in jail. They’re investing in community mobilization. They’re investing in other justice outcomes such as restorative justice and other areas that can have an impact.”

Balcaen said he has known for years that crime is not a problem that can be resolved by boosting the arrest rate, and that’s something the current government recognizes.

In his last year as chief, Balcaen worked to introduce a community service officer program to Brandon. He told Brandon City Council that BPS officer spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with social issues and doing tasks like accompanying detainees to the hospital.

Hiring is underway to bring in non-sworn officers, known as cadets, to handle lower-acuity issues and free up resources for sworn officers.

Balcaen praised government efforts to tackle bail reform to crack down on repeat offenders.

He raised addictions as something he has first-hand experience tackling.

Party leader Heather Stefanson has criticized safe consumption sites, often suggested as a potential method of harm reduction for drug users.

“That’s a difficult one because I’ve always looked at that from a policing perspective and seen how it can, in other jurisdictions, draw crime into the area where a safe injection site is,” Balcaen said.

“But you know, I’m one that will also look at some of the science for this, so I’ll continue to explore this and see what the best options for our community are.”

On health care, Balcaen said the government has room to improve, but it has acknowledged that and is working to rebuild the system.

Montgomery said he’s considering his options after Balcaen’s entry into the nomination race. He said he would announce more information about the future of his campaign later this week.

So far, the only candidate to secure their party’s nomination in Brandon West is retired teacher Bill Marsh, who is running for the Green Party of Manitoba.

— Brandon Sun