POLITICAL COMMENTARY 

Winnipeg residents who take the time to stand before city council deserve one thing above all else: respect. They are not lobbyists. They are not paid consultants. They are citizens who care enough about their city to show up at City Hall, often during work hours, to speak about decisions that affect their neighbourhoods, their taxes, and their future. Yet more and more, those residents are being treated as an inconvenience. Last week’s Executive Policy Committee meeting prov

Winnipeg residents who take the time to stand before city council deserve one thing above all else: respect. They are not lobbyists. They are not paid consultants. They are citizens who care enough about their city to show up at City Hall, often during work hours, to speak about decisions that affect their neighbourhoods, their taxes, and their future. Yet more and more, those residents are being treated as an inconvenience. Last week’s Executive Policy Committee meeting prov

What kind of country fines its citizens for expressing an opinion about biology? What kind of government inserts itself into everyday language and declares certain words mandatory? Canada is moving closer to that line. This month alone, two human rights tribunal decisions made national news. In Quebec, a Montreal salon was ordered to pay damages after its online booking system offered “men’s” and “women’s” haircut categories. In British Columbia, a former school trustee was o

In the private sector, there is a simple rule. If you do not return your customer’s call, someone else will. In public office, that rule should be even stricter. Taxpayers are not customers by choice. They fund the operation whether they like it or not. The least they deserve is a response. A Winnipeg resident recently wrote to Mayor Scott Gillingham and every member of council with a series of direct questions about zoning authority and municipal oversight. The questions wer

A listener of my Inside Politics podcast sent me a note this week that cuts to the core of a growing frustration. Jack from North Kildonan told me his property assessment jumped nearly 19 percent. His point was straightforward. If assessments rise that sharply, the city should lower the mill rate so homeowners are not hit with what amounts to a tax increase dressed up as something else. He is not wrong. When assessments climb and the mill rate stays the same, the city collect

Winnipeg public service is recommending the default residential speed limit drop from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. Council’s public works committee will debate it March 4. The estimated cost is $525,000, largely for signage and promotion. The stated goal is safety. The question is simple. Is this the biggest issue facing our city today? In recent weeks, a child was attacked on a Winnipeg Transit bus with a baseball bat. That is not a traffic-calming issue. It is a public safety failur