Over the course of the 2022 Winnipeg election campaign, Global News is sharing the various statements and pledges we receive from candidates for mayor.
Mayoral candidates gathered at a forum for Winnipeg’s newcomer community on Saturday and voiced where they stand on issues like employment, policing and city services.
Candidates Idris Adelukan, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Robert Falcon-Ouellette, Scott Gillingham, Shaun Loney, Glenn Murray and Rick Shone were in attendance. Kevin Klein, Jenny Moktaluk and Don Woodstock missed the event.
Many supported an increase in targeted recreational and employment programming for newcomer youth.
Bokhari spoke about the importance of dealing with issues such as mental health and addictions but said police should not be the ones handling that.
“Police are not the people that we should be calling for mental wellness checks,” she said.
Bokhari believes 10 per cent of the police budget needs to be reallocated to provide those services.
“Allow police to do what they should be doing, which is responding to crime, and let community organizations deal with the proactive prevention of crime.”
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She also said safe consumption sites and safe injection sites are a necessity and there is no way to deal with the drug issue in the city without them.
Falcon-Oullette said he would like to create innovation in policing, which includes better training. He also said he’d address the drug issue head-on.
“We need to address the addictions issue facing our city because if we do not, this is going to continue.”
Adalukan agrees that non-profit organizations are needed when it comes to dealing with addictions and crime.
“My plan is to partner with non-profit organizations to make sure we support them and free up our police officers from engaging in these activities,” he said.
Another issue that was discussed was the roadblocks many newcomers face.
Many supported using targeted recruitment to fill unstaffed city jobs with new people moving to the city.
Gillingham said he wants Winnipeg to become a place of choice for immigrants.
Additionally, the candidates explored the decision behind allowing permanent residents the right to vote. Scott Gillingham and Falcon-Oullette were the only candidates who did not commit to this.
Winnipeggers will elect a new mayor on Oct. 26.
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