Province leaves ‘disappointed’ police board chair off invitation list for public-safety strategy unveiling

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The chair of the Winnipeg Police Board was caught off guard by an apparent snub from the province Thursday afternoon, when it unveiled its new public-safety strategy without alerting city officials.

“I was a bit disappointed, as chair of the police board, to have not been invited to that announcement,” Coun. Markus Chambers told the Free Press Friday.

“The city… wasn’t really aware that the province was making this announcement.”

Chambers, who leads the civilian body tasked with oversight of police in Manitoba’s capital, said he is still reviewing the details of the strategy.

The plan is a compilation of new and old government promises — including stricter legislation, more police on the street and support for communities struggling against rising crime.

It will serve as a guiding document for safety initiatives throughout the province for years to come, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said.

Wiebe released the 28-page document during a news conference at The Forks. He was flanked by community stakeholders, fellow politicians and officials from the Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP and the Manitoba First Nations Police Service.

No City of Winnipeg officials were present.

Chambers said he learned of the event from reporters and tuned in to watch remotely as it was livestreamed to the public.

Among other things, Wiebe pledged the province will permanently fund 12 new Winnipeg police officers. The new hires are expected to carry on the retail crime initiative, which focuses on stopping violence and theft affecting some city businesses.

The province allocated $1.1 million in July to pay for police to work overtime in support of the initiative.

Wiebe said the strategy was developed in consultation with representatives from 210 community groups, including those that gathered for a safety summit in April.

“There was that consultation, but no discussion was had with respect to the outcomes of that safety summit and, so, with the announcement of the 12 officers, there are still some details that we have to dig into to find out exactly how we are going to operationalize that,” Chambers said.

“If it is dedicated toward the violent retail crime initiative, that’s great. It’s a way of bringing stability to an initiative that was funded through overtime and we know that’s not sustainable in the long run.”

The province also promised a two per cent funding increase for municipal police agencies across Manitoba.

Chambers noted the increase will fall short in Winnipeg, where spending on policing continues to rise.

“We recognize that a two per cent increase is good, but when salaries and benefits are increasing at a higher rate, it’s almost like a service cut,” he said.

The cash-strapped city has repeatedly asked the province for a new funding agreement as it works on next year’s budget — roughly  more than one-quarter of which is typically dedicated to policing.

Chambers said funding agreements will be discussed during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention later this month.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca