The best way to address problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place. Investment in caring for people and providing what they need to live happier, fuller lives is much more effective than ignoring problems like poverty and hunger, then wondering what could have been done when things get worse. If we work to eliminate poverty and invest in programs and resources that help people from an early age, we won’t have to do it under the banner of crime prevention, or sound economics. We can just build community and help people because it’s the right thing to do. This is the approach I will take as City Councilor. I know from experience that the best way to help people is to approach with kindness, ask questions, listen, and take direct action. Even if an issue falls outside of the jurisdiction of a City Councilor, I have the knowledge, contacts and relationships needed to guide and connect people to the right resources. Over the past twenty years, I have successfully taken this approach to help people struggling with homelessness, addiction, food security, safety, and the many other byproducts of poverty.

Homelessness

The best way to overcome homelessness is to have a home. However, successfully transitioning from homelessness to a safe, stable environment requires long-term support. Transitional and affordable housing with access to on-site supports will help people build or reclaim life skills, cook a meal, or manage addiction and mental health. I know this because I speak with, listen to and help people with both past and present lived experience. I know it is worth our investment of patience, persistence and care to effectively address homelessness.

Intersection of Addiction and Mental Health

As a front-line community worker, I have navigated countless situations that required direct engagement with people experiencing unmanaged addiction and mental health challenges. Most cases have required decisive action to keep groups of children and community members safe. I successfully manage these encounters with a combination of firmness, care and kindness, and an ability to reach through to people, de-escalating the situation at hand.

I know from these experiences that people do not want to live life lost to unmanaged addiction and mental health challenges. It leaves people vulnerable, prompts desperate and dangerous actions, and creates a barrier to accessing supports, belonging and living a full life. Support for addiction treatment, safe consumption sites, and drug testing facilities will very effectively work towards calming the chaos we are experiencing throughout Winnipeg. We need to address this issue with care and intelligence so people can reclaim their lives, and everyone can enjoy a safer Winnipeg.

As a Winnipeg City Councilor, I will support the following initiatives:

Moving Winnipeg towards phosphorous compliance. I support the recommendations of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation and the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective

A robust tree maintenance and replacement program to rescue our disappearing tree canopy. I support the recommendations of Trees Please Winnipeg www.treespleasewinnipeg.com

A city-wide organic waste collection program, in tandem with our existing garbage and recycling program. I support the recommendations of Winnipeg’s Green Action Centre https://greenactioncentre.ca/ and Compost Winnipeg https://compostwinnipeg.ca/

Support for Winnipeg Transit, I support the recommendations of the Winnipeg Transit Union https://www.atu1505.ca/ To make Winnipeg Transit safer for staff and passengers.

I want to thank everyone who reached out to ask about my position on active transportation. As a member of the community advisory council that informed Winnipeg’s Complete Communities document, I am in support of active transportation.

I have been riding my bike and walking in St. James for 40 years, long before our current bike paths and protected bike lanes existed. I spent a lot of hours on the legendary Assiniboine Park monkey trails and lived to tell about it. One of my family’s favourite activities is to take long bike rides through St. James.

I would like to see bike paths and corridors connect our neigbourhoods and wards so that cyclists can successfully and safely navigate their way all around Winnipeg. I think protected bike lanes are most successful when they are located along a road that would otherwise be too dangerous for the average cyclist to ride on. I support reduced traffic speeds on residential streets for the same reasons we now have reduced speed limits in school zones. It is safer for everyone.

As a City Councilor, I would move to restrict motorized bicycles from bike/walking paths, but move to allow them on protected bike lanes. I want to make sure that all new residential, commercial and retail developments include active transportation routes.

I thank all of the advocacy groups and organizations who have blazed a trail for cycling in Winnipeg, including The W.R.E.N.C.H. and Bike Winnipeg.

I became aware of our infrastructure deficit several years ago, while serving as a member of the community advisory council that informed the development of Winnipeg’s current 25-year strategic plan. During this three-year commitment, I came to realize that irresponsible growth and unnecessary urban sprawl are key reasons that we have crumbling roads throughout our mature neighbourhoods. One of the anchor businesses that accelerated this problem is Ikea, located in what had previously been undeveloped land along Route 90. This exciting addition to Winnipeg’s retail landscape also prompted a massive amount of adjacent development, and with it, brand new roads stretching in every direction to areas with low population density. Even more problematic, this area was developed without adequate transit service. Every kilometer of roadway around these new retail developments represents a street in a mature Winnipeg community that has now been left to deteriorate. As a City Councillor, I will support responsible growth, and work to make sure future retail developments are located in mature neighbourhoods, such as the former site of the old Winnipeg Stadium along Milt Stegall Drive.