Winnipeg’s mayor vows to turn words into action to combat racism

WATCH ABOVE: Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman talks to Tom Clark about recent headlines declaring his city the most racist in Canada and what he will do to combat the problem

The front of the latest issue of Maclean’s magazine declares “Canada has a bigger race problem than America. And it’s ugliest in Winnipeg.”

The city’s mayor says the problem is much larger than Winnipeg but in an interview on The West Block he admitted the article features stories and statistics Winnipegers will recognize.

“We do have some unique issues in Winnipeg and we’re working together as a community to tackle them head on,” Brian Bowman told Tom Clark.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We do have some unique issues in Winnipeg and we're working together as a community to tackle them head on," Brian Bowman told Tom Clark.

The article focused on the treatment of aboriginal people in the city, and points to a string of recent events such as the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, whose body was found in August wrapped in plastic in the Red River, and the attack on Rinelle Harper — the shy 16-year-old indigenous girl left for dead in the city’s Assiniboine River.

And it comes shortly after an inquest report into the death of Brian Sinclair, an aboriginal double-amputee who died during a 34-hour wait for care in a city hospital’s emergency room in 2008. Some staff testified that they assumed he was drunk – “sleeping it off” – or homeless.

“We do have one of the largest urban Aboriginal populations in Canada and it’s growing,” Bowman said. “And the majority of Winnipegers, of course, don’t share the views that we see in some of the hatred that has been demonstrated in Winnipeg and really across Canada.”

But he recognized he had to start a dialogue early. He’s been in office less than 100 days and he’s already had several meetings with indigenous leaders.

He says response from the community to this article has been heartwarming and gives him hope things can change.

“I think Howard McCurdy said it best when we had our press conference this week, that you know it doesn’t matter if it’s indigenous or non-indigenous, all Canadians are impacted by intolerance and racism and we all have the power to change course. And now is the time for us to come together as a community and move forward,” he said.

Bowman hopes to have some more tangible announcements in the coming weeks but vows to turn words in to action.

He said he hoped he could return to the show in a year and demonstrate how things have changed in that time.

— with files from The Canadian Press