The leadership at the City of Winnipeg continues to complete business behind closed doors, this practice is outdated. If I were in charge, it would be changed immediately.
I recently learned, thanks to a reporter who phoned me, that the City of Winnipeg has reached an agreement with the company responsible for mowing down trees along Roblin to accommodate the moving of a house.
The story in the Free Press states, (the company) "received two tickets under the Highway Traffic Act, including a fine of $3,169 for an overweight load and a separate $298 penalty for height and plate requirement violations, according to court records. The company declined an interview request. Meanwhile, the City of Winnipeg is no longer considering legal action to seek compensation for the publicly owned trees, after reaching a compensation deal with the company."
The story went on to say, "The city declined to reveal the total amount of compensation paid." My question is why? Why would political figures not want to inform residents as a form of deterrence for future companies?
I told the report, "You would think that this was such an important, critical issue to the residents... that (officials) would learn to communicate better," said Klein. "They should be clear and precise on what happened. That becomes a deterrent to prevent it from happening again."
Have we not had enough of the old boys network and dealings done behind closed doors? This is something I will continue to fight against.