An apology and a call for change

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/02/2021 (837 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many residents have contacted my office to share their frustration, anger, and disappointment regarding some City of Winnipeg health facilities being open to staff during COVID-19 restrictions. I understand and fully respect their frustration, anger, and disappointment.

To be clear, I do not have a membership to these facilities and was not aware the gym located next to City Hall was open. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this blatant disregard for taxpayers.

I want to take a moment and do something that city council should have done previously and that’s apologize to small business owners, gym owners, and residents for our blatant disregard for what is right.

The truth is, we have nobody and no other level of government to blame but ourselves, your elected officials.

 This action is another example of a much larger issue we have in the City of Winnipeg.

It’s one of many instances where the lack of leadership and experience on city council allows the public service to go unchecked.

I have noticed many of my colleagues shared their outrage on social media regarding the gym being open. That response doesn’t address the larger problem. The problem that fosters this type of behaviour is that there is no accountability. In the private sector, “do as I say, not as I do” was not an option for managers on my team or myself.

I believe councillors should direct their energies to introducing accountability policies and eliminate the Big Mayor Model that fosters this behaviour. These steps are necessary to change the internal culture within city hall.

I urge residents upset by this issue or others – such as our mayor having the second-highest expense account in the country; the 87 murders in 24 months and six consecutive years of increased violent crimes – to speak out and demand change.

Residents can demand change during the governance review happening now.

This administration is attempting to push through policy changes that do not include more accountability, that do not address the real concerns of our city and which give more control to the public service.

The strategy of this governance review is meant to deceive residents and control the outcome that only benefits a few and not the many.

Haven’t we had enough years of insiders benefiting from our tax dollars?