Left-Right: Mayoral candidates Kevin Klein, Mike Vogiatzakis, Don Woodstock, Tracey Drexler and Scott Gillingham at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain. Photo: Graham McDonald/U Multicultural Journalism and Media Arts Centre.
Five Winnipeg mayoral candidates faced questions on procurement, public safety, housing, transit and French-language services Thursday at a bilingual forum organized by the Black Manitobans Chamber of Commerce and community partners.
Mayor Scott Gillingham and challengers Kevin Klein, Mike Vogiatzakis, Don Woodstock and Tracey Drexler participated in the event at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain in St. Boniface.
The Black Manitobans Chamber of Commerce billed the event as an opportunity for residents to hear directly from candidates, while the Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface also promoted the forum to its members.
Municipal procurement emerged as one of the evening’s major business issues, with candidates asked how they would improve access to city contracts for Black-owned businesses.
Drexler proposed creating a municipal procurement navigation office to help small businesses understand and compete in the city’s bidding process.
Klein said the city needs to simplify procurement.
“Small, Black-owned and other diverse businesses should be able to bid without a master’s degree in city paperwork,” he said.
Klein said he would publish more information about winning bids, including “who won, won what and why,” while establishing a vendor desk to help businesses navigate the process.
Woodstock, who identified himself as the owner of a Black-owned security business, called for a system that is “open, fair and transparent,” arguing businesses also need more education about how municipal procurement works.
Gillingham pointed to Winnipeg’s existing supplier registry for diverse, Indigenous and social-enterprise businesses and promoted his proposed Winnipeg growth office as a “311-like centre for small businesses” seeking information about city opportunities.
Vogiatzakis said City Hall needs to make it easier to establish and operate a business.
“The backbone of the city is small businesses,” he said.
Public safety, homelessness and addiction dominated several other questions.
“Downtown safety requires both enforcement and it requires prevention as well,” Gillingham said, pointing to community safety officers, downtown foot patrols and his proposed expansion of community-based crisis response for some mental-health calls.
Klein repeatedly argued the city needs a stronger police presence and said he wants Winnipeg to become one of Canada’s safest cities.
“Winnipeggers want buses that show up. They want to ride without fear,” he said during a question on transit.
Vogiatzakis also called for stronger enforcement and promised to release a broader public-safety plan.
“If you don’t know the city’s problems by now, you shouldn’t be running for mayor,” he said.
Woodstock linked crime prevention to housing, addiction treatment and recreation, repeatedly telling the audience: “More sports, less crime.”
Drexler emphasized addressing social causes rather than relying solely on enforcement.
“We don’t make downtown safer by criminalizing poverty and homelessness,” she said. “We need to treat the root of the problem.”
The forum was billed as bilingual, with questions delivered in both French and English and candidates permitted to respond in either language. The candidates, however, answered overwhelmingly in English.
Near the end of the event, a Radio-Canada journalist asked why Francophone voters should feel represented when none of the five candidates spoke French fluently.
“You’re right. I can’t speak French,” Klein responded, saying he wished he had learned the language when he was younger.
Drexler said she had spoken French during childhood but had lost much of it and intended to relearn the language.
Candidates also pointed to French-language municipal services, consultation with Francophone organizations and investment in St. Boniface when asked how they would serve French-speaking residents.
Gillingham closed by arguing Winnipeg has “momentum,” highlighting population growth, housing construction and investment.
Several of his challengers used their closing statements to argue the city needs a change in direction, particularly on public safety, affordability and municipal services.
Winnipeggers vote for mayor, councillors and school trustees October 28.
Graham McDonald, U Multicultural Journalism and Media Arts Centre