Councillor apologizes after cursing at public hearing

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This article was published 14/05/2021 (1800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg city councillor swore in frustration during a public hearing about key planning documents Thursday.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) appeared to voice his anger a little louder than he had intended, after asking city staff a series of questions about population and urban sprawl figures that were printed in a draft Complete Communities strategy.

“F—ing gong show,” Mayes muttered, after failing to turn off his microphone.

Mayes quickly apologized after a colleague called him out for breaking the rules of decorum in the council chamber. He noted he thought his microphone was off before he uttered the phrase, which could also be heard on a live video of the meeting.

“My frustration boiled over. That was unprofessional of me and I apologize,” Mayes told the Free Press, during a break from the public meeting.

Just prior to the incident, the councillor was criticizing a Complete Communities claim that the population of Winnipeg’s “mature communities” fell by 82,000 people between 1971 and 2016. He argued the city is misleading the public with that figure, stating detailed data show the population decline stopped at least 15 years ago.

Mayes argues the report cherry-picks data, to make a case for prioritizing all infill development, despite the fact such builds have triggered backlash in parts of his ward.

“I have too much respect for the public… (to) let that go,” he said.

During the meeting, Michael Robinson, the city’s Complete Communities lead, repeatedly assured Mayes the figures in the report are accurate. “The information that we have in the document is the best available information,” said Robinson.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga