'We are a big city now': Time for Winnipeg to change mindset, mayor says

As he looks ahead to 2020, Winnipeg's mayor says it's time for the city to start thinking big.

"What I've been trying to do is to really change the mindset from viewing ourselves as a small town to a big city. We are a big city now," Brian Bowman said in his year-end interview with CBC News.

"Big" comes with growing pains, and the mayor knows it.

He sees public safety as the biggest issue facing the city in the year to come, butsays that makes Winnipeg no different than other big cities.

"You see Toronto, you see Vancouver, other cities, struggling with the challenges of making sure that you are providing a safe and inclusive city for a growing city," Bowman says.

Though some of the city's safety issueshave persisted for years, in 2019, Winnipegdealt withbackloggedcalls for police service, a record number of homicides,thefts and sometimes violent robberiesat Manitoba Liquor Marts,and ongoing efforts to address the issues that arise from meth use.

Trudeau and me and a Brian makes 3

Bowmanis putting a lot of stake in pushing the provincial and federal governments levels of government that have significant powers toeffect the kind ofmajor social changemany argue is needed to makestreets safer, ease the pressure on the police or stem the flow of drugs.

That could be accomplished in part, Bowman believes, if only he could sit down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Brian Pallister.

So far,that hasn't happened and Bowman appears a little perplexed.

"Getting the three of us in a room seems to be I mean, it'sa difficult thing to do. I don't think it should be difficult," he said.

Not even a severe snowstorm in October could bring Bowman and Pallister togetherto survey the damage and assure residents both levels of government were on top of the situation.

The mayor was diplomatic about that.

"I can't speak for the premier. I know on a personal level I've got a tremendous amount of respect for him," Bowman said.

"He's someone who's dedicated his adult life to politics and to being in elected office. I've got a lot of time for him, even if we don't agree on every issue."

Councillor wants debate on crime

Bowman may have difficulty herding his political counterparts into a room, but one politician he gets plenty of time with is Kevin Klein.

The city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwoodhas challenged Bowman to a public debate on how to solve crime problems.

Klein is a constant critic of Bowman's administration, and although it's years away, there are rumblings he may runfor the mayor's job in the next civic election.

• 'Not a real budget for us': Councillors slam Winnipeg's 'fundamentally flawed' budget process

Possibly following the advice to keep your enemies close,Bowman appointed Klein as chair of the Winnipeg Police Boardbut that magnanimity does not extend to publicly debating crime issues.

"We don't get ahead by tearing each other down. We do it by supporting each other and collaborating," Bowman said, shutting the dooron tangling with Klein in a debate beyond the council floor.

"And that's why I appointed him chair of the police board because he talks a big game when it comes to fixing communities' ills and dealing with public safety, and being fiscally responsible."

Ready to spend political capital

While Bowman doesn't always get the meetings he wants with the Manitoba premier, the fiscally minded provincial Tories may quietly applaud the municipal budget being pulled together at city hall.

It's expected to holdthe line on a promised 2.33 per cent tax increase. If at least some of the proposals made this fall survive the next few weeks of closed-door wrangling, there will also becuts to services and staff.

"There absolutely will be some service reductions," Bowman said. There will be a political price to pay for some of the choices, he added,and he "will be spending political capital" to get them passed.

"You don't you don't bring in a four-year, multi-year balanced budget without having to make some tough decisions."

Those tough decisionswill mean a date in front of a labourarbitrator as the city and the union representing police officers continue their fight over proposed changes to their pensions.

"That isa very difficult discussion, a very difficult debate, and I'm very proud that council had the political courage to make decisions that others have failed to make in the past," Bowman said.

If the city wins, it will mean millions of dollars in savings, which Bowman says could be funnelled back into police operations and community services.

If it loses, it will cost thousands in legal bills, along withmore of the political capital Bowman says he is willing to spend.

Police HQ inquiry a 'no-brainer'

One of the issues Bowman has been consistent on since first being elected in 2014 is the need for a public inquiry into"any and all matters" related to the real estate transactions and capital-procurement problems that doggedthe city during previous administrations.

That door was slammed firmly shut by Premier Brian Pallisterearlier this month, whenRCMP announced no charges would be laid following a five-year criminal investigation into the construction of Winnipeg's police headquarters.

The premier rejected calls for a public inquiry, saying"there's only so much digging up on past issues that we can do, or [can] afford to do."

• 'We've got bigger issues,' says Pallister as he rejects calls for Winnipeg public inquiry
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Bowman thinks otherwise.

"This is a no-brainer. I mean, call a public inquiry," the mayor said.

"Let's get to the bottom of this, because if we don't have a public inquiry, we're still going to have lingering questions about how this ever happened that are not going to be fully answered in civil actions."

Bowman says what happened under former mayorSam Katz's administration"shouldn't be swept under a rug," and challenged the province to show some steel on the issue no matter where it might lead.

"A public inquiry may lead to discussions and insights into city hall that could lead to other elected levels of government as well. Some of the players have moved on to other levels of government."

Bowman was coy about what the city might do in the absence of a public inquiry, but hinted he isn't finishedtrying to get answers.

Could be defining year for Bowman's city hall

The list of challenges facing city hall in the coming year is longer than a nine-year-old'sseasonal missive to Santa.

A growing city means a sprawling city, and Bowman has to cope with extending services while keeping budgets in check and fighting a legal battle with developers on growth fees.

Then there is a messy plan to address the city's sewage outflow into Lake Winnipeg.

The city's property, planning and development department has its own messes to deal with it's under a city-led review, and the provincial government is leaning in with plans of its own to fix some of the problems.

There are crumbling streets and bridges, a transit system that will see the opening of thesouthwestrapid transitline to the University of Manitoba but is still the envy of no other big city, and still more legal battles to fight.

It's a year that could seal Brian Bowman's legacy one way or another and at the end of the interview he returns to the idea that Winnipeg's future lies in seeing itself as a big city.

"We need to get better as a community, and so the days of looking at ourselves as a small town are over."