Allard hopes to continue serving ward

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/10/2018 (2569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) said it’s been an honour to represent the ward for the last four years.

Allard, 36, is running for re-election as St. Boniface city councillor in the Oct. 24 civic election. He was first elected in 2014.

“It’s been a tremendous four years,” said Allard. “We’ve been able to accomplish a lot.”

Allard, who is married to Joëlle Saltel Allard, and has two children — Camille, 9, and Löic, 3 — said some of the accomplishments he’s most proud of include helping secure a $10 million riverbank stabilization project along a section of Tache Avenue, which will be complete this year, and helping “bring in whistleblower protections for municipal workers.” In 2015, Allard introduced a motion to formalize whistleblower protection, as he believed City employees should feel safe coming forward if they believed something wasn’t right at work.

He also worked hard to push through the North St. Boniface Secondary Plan and Boulevard Provencher Planned Development Overlay, which are blueprints for revitalization in the area.

“It’s been a rock ‘n’ roll four years,” he said, noting the flyer he has been distributing during his pre-election door-knocking campaign has a list of bullet points of the projects that have been undertaken during his tenure.

“One thing I’ve learned in the last four years is that as a city councillor, you’re able to target goals for the local community. City hall is a good place to get things done. For me, I think I’ve really found my feet for the people of St. Boniface.”

Allard, who is bilingual, said two of his big responsibilities have been to focus on planning, housing, and transportation issues.

“A key thing about active transportation is that there are other ways to get around the city using other modes of transport such as walking and biking, and on the land planning side, we know the City has a very large infrastructure deficit, and there are ways to address this, such as do more with the infrastructure we have and capitalize on our existing infrastructure,” he said.

“It’s been an honour to represent St. Boniface, and if re-elected, I will continue to work hard for the people of St. Boniface.”

Go online at mattallard.ca for more information.