WINNIPEG — Coun. Jeff Browaty has resigned as the chairman of the Winnipeg Police Board following comments he made about residential schools.
This comes a day after the police board called for Mayor Brian Bowman to replace Browaty as its chair. The recommendation was made after Browaty made comments in December that questioned the need for city staff to received education about the residential school system.
He said he didn’t think it was necessary for “a grass cutter, payroll clerk or pothole filler to take this training.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Bowman sent a response to Browaty’s resignation.
“In light of councillor Browaty’s decision to resign, I will now turn my attention towards identifying a new chair of the Winnipeg Police Board,” he said.
READ MORE: Winnipeg city councillor apologizes for residential school remarks
On Tuesday the police board released a letter to the mayor asking for Browaty’s resignation.
“The board feels that the relationship between its Indigenous Council and Councillor Browaty, who chairs our Board and its Indigenous Liaison Committee, is not conducive to a good working relationship,” the letter stated.
Browaty issued a statement Wednesday, saying while he has spoken ‘frankly and from the heart” in private to the Winnipeg Police Board, he is offering his resignation to the mayor.
READ MORE: Winnipeg Police Board recommends councillor Jeff Browaty be replaced as chair
“If there was confusion for what I said in council in December, I have said I am sorry. I meant no harm or offence to any individual or group.,” Browaty stated on Facebook.
“I felt that if training is to be paid for by taxpayers, I wanted to fully know where said funds were coming from and how much it was going to cost. My framing of the issue was less than eloquent, and for that I apologize.”
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