Union coalition demanding government action on downtown safety By: Maggie Macintosh Posted: 2:09 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026 Last Modified: 7:24 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026 Updates

Eight unions have joined forces to create urgency around worker concerns about safety — on the job and on their commutes — in downtown Winnipeg.

A new coalition is calling on government officials to take swift and concrete action to better protect area employees and visitors.

“(Incident) reports have been growing in all sectors. That’s why all of us have come together,” said Gord Delbridge, a spokesperson for Workers for Downtown Public Safety.

“It’s happening at our pools. It’s happening at our libraries. It’s happening to workers working in our streets. It’s happening everywhere.”

The group represents thousands of employees from all three levels of government, firefighters and paramedics, bus drivers, retail workers and community service workers, among others.

The initiative was announced Tuesday, just over a month after a Manitoba Hydro employee was randomly assaulted at the Crown corporation’s headquarters at 360 Portage Ave.

The coalition is requesting meetings with Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Justice Minister Matt Wiebe to demand “worker-first solutions” to enhance public safety.

Ahead of sitting for those meetings, they are planning to release a five-point plan on the subject.

Two priorities were revealed Tuesday — bolstering mental-health and addictions supports and enhancing protections for front-line employees.

Members are committed to a “balanced, solutions-focused approach” to public safety that addresses immediate concerns and long-term root causes, the group said in a news release.

For Delbridge, an obvious starting point is expanding Winnipeg’s community safety officer program.

The peace officers patrol city streets and buses in high-visibility uniforms. They’re trained in community engagement and trauma-informed practices to assist people experiencing homelessness, addictions and mental-health crises.

“It’s happening at our pools. It’s happening at our libraries. It’s happening to workers working in our streets. It’s happening everywhere.”

As president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, Delbridge advocates on behalf of city-employed construction workers, librarians and other public servants.

Members are reporting an uptick in physical and verbal harassment towards them, their colleagues and visitors inside central buildings, he said.

Delbridge noted that, among recent concerns, he’s heard from multiple employees who are scared to leave after their shifts at Sherbrook Pool because of illegal activity outside the building.

Workers for Downtown Public Safety recognizes there’s a need to address root causes of societal issues, as well as reactive responses for the immediate protection of workers,he said.

Along with CUPE 500, the coalition’s membership includes: Amalgamated Transit Union; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union; Canada Employment & Immigration Union; Public Service Alliance of Canada; United Food and Commercial Workers; and United Firefighters of Winnipeg.

“We’ve got a role and responsibility as union leaders in our community. We’re part of our community — our families live here, our workers live here and we all care very much about our community and want this to be a safe community that people can work in, live in and come and visit,” Delbridge said.

Keri D’Avignon-Nault echoed those comments.

D’Avignon-Nault represents about 1,100 federal government employees who report to offices in the downtown core, including Service Canada in Portage Place.

“We’ve been seeing an increase in escalations against our members. There’s been incidents of violence. There’s been harassment issues – videotaping has been a large issue.”

“We’ve been seeing an increase in escalations against our members. There’s been incidents of violence. There’s been harassment issues — videotaping has been a large issue,” said the national vice-president for Manitoba and Saskatchewan for CEIU-PSA.

Service Canada employees have been subject to sexual comments and groping when they’re leaving work, she said.

D’Avignon-Nault indicated there’s only so much an employer can do, given incidents often happen when workers are entering and exiting.

“We’re looking for respect for our members and, in return, we want to be respectful of all individuals in sharing the downtown space for everyone,” she said.

Wiebe was asked about the coalition Tuesday and said he’s preparing to meet with the group and is open to all suggestions.

“We’re happy to hear from labour. We’re happy to hear from working people. We know they want to be a part of the solution and part of making our downtown safer,” he told reporters at the legislature.

At the same time, he touted the province’s Safer Neighbourhoods, Safer Downtowns public safety strategy.

The mayor’s office said that, as of Tuesday afternoon, it had yet to receive an invitation to meet with the coalition.

In a statement, Gillingham said his door “is always open to talk about worker safety.”

The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ declined to comment on the coalition’s calls.

— With files from Carol Sanders and Erik Pindera

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

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Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie 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.