Rounding up this year’s activity

Point Douglas

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2023 (718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I want to wish you and your relatives a merry Christmas and a happy new year. While some of us will spend time with families and friends over this holiday season, there are others who feel the effects of the “winter blues” — loneliness, illness and hunger. So please think about donating to your favorite charity, such as Koats for Kids, Manitoba Harvest, Northwest Watchers Bear Clan and others.

It has been 13 months since I was re-elected in October 2022 and, over the past year, I focused most of my efforts on the journey of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. I was successful in advocating with clan mother and elder Mae Louise Campbell to gift the land of 48 Maple St. to Clan Mothers Healing Village and Education Centre. Their vision is to create transformational housing for women, girls and two-spirited individuals fleeing from violence and seeking to heal from trauma.

I have also been working with the mayor’s poverty and homelessness policy analyst, Winnipeg CAO Michael Jack and non-profit service providers to discuss ideas and sincere ways to house unsheltered Winnipeggers and to strategically invest in our community to reduce the level of poverty. I talked with residents of the Bell Hotel and we discussed possible upgrades to the lighted crosswalk on Main Street at Henry Avenue (a.k.a. Hope Alley) and they asked for more lighting, a mural, and canopies. And for the first time, the mayor, the chief of the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service, area residents and business owners came with me to visit the city’s largest encampment at North Winnipeg Parkway — Trans-Canada Trail, where we discussed short and long-term strategies for solving homelessness.

I am proud to that my office’s capital investment strategy of nearly $3,112,000 was invested into different neighborhoods of the Point Douglas ward. A hard copy of my newsletter was mailed out earlier this month, explaining further details. Finally, along with Exchange District BIZ, I unveiled a bold 20-year vision for the future growth of the Exchange District into a more animated, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhood.

Peace, blessings, and the best of joy from my office to you.