Local city councillors welcome 2021

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This article was published 11/01/2021 (1965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the world rang in 2021, city councillors from wards in central and west Winnipeg shared their hopes and goals for the new year with The Metro:

Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) notedthat 2020 was a challenging year that has left lasting impacts.

“Our city faces new challenges and division. Residents want their leaders to act responsibly and address critical issues in our community,” Klein said.

“In 2021, I want to change City Hall from being a tax collector to being a service provider to residents. It’s in our name — we are the public service.”

Klein adds that he will work to introduce policies that will increase accountability and efficiencies within the public service.

“I will work in partnership with businesses, not-for-profits, the arts and residents to find creative solutions that will grow our local economy and build a solid foundation for our young people,” he said.

“I am incredibly excited about our future. This community, our residents, have great potential. I will do what it takes to unleash that potential.”

Scott Gillingham (St. James), wants to see upgrades to the St. James Civic Centre completed. He also plans to continue lobbying the provincial and federal governments to approve funding for the Civic Centre expansion project.

Another of Gillingham’s 2021 goals is to begin construction on several projects in the ward that will enhance parks, wading pools and playgrounds.

“These projects were chosen by area residents and funded through a $1.4-million investment of the city’s land operating reserve,” he said.

In addition, Gillingham will continue working toward getting water and sewer services into CentrePort Winnipeg.

“Development of this property will be required to meet the future employment lands needs of our city,” he said.

Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) plans to continue working with the community in 2021.

“I think the last year has taught us to look at what makes us happy in and around our home. It’s so important that we feel like we’re getting out in nature so our trees are very valuable, especially in our area where we have a lot of them,” she said.

“A goal of mine for this year is to look at our tree canopy and make sure we replace our trees. Another issue in our area is what we can do about all the abandoned shopping carts that we’re seeing.”

Homelessness and poverty also remain top-of-mind concerns for Gilroy.

“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a lot of work to do on that front,” she said. “I want to continue with that work.”

Gilroy also drew attention to the City of Winnipeg’s Wellness Grant Program, which is a one-time initiative funded by the Federal Safe Restart Agreement. This program provides up to $40,000 per ward to support community initiatives that reduce the negative impacts of the pandemic and allow residents to safely connect.

“Some places are doing ice rinks. Other places are looking at doing different trails in their communities. It’s all about finding ways to bring good experiences to people in the inner city who might not always have access to some of the other beautiful parks and trails that we have throughout the city,” she said.

“We can bring a little bit of that to them by finding some fun things close to home. These are some of the things that we’re working on right now as we move through the new year.”