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Calling for a Governance Overhaul

Feb 28, 2023

 

I am more than pleased to say we are finally making excellent progress on the governance review! Mayor Gillingham understands the need for good governance and is not restricting progress, ad the former Mayor did.

Key milestones that have been made:

  • January 2023: Mayor Gillingham sends a letter to the Province, indicated the desire for the City of Winnipeg to have the ability to determine its governance model, and to be a able to make changes to the Charter.
  • February 2023: The Governance Committee received a report from the Clerks  on what would be required to make changes to various aspects of the model.

Now, the Governance Committee of Council will meet to prioritize the recommendations over the next three months and work with Councillors to determine key changes to the model. Very exciting times in moving forward to ensure a stronger governance model and information sharing and decision making process!

 

Governance is certainly not the most exciting topic for anyone, BUT the way a city is governed impacts every single decision made and every single dollar spent. A good governance model ensures fair and equal representation and ensures all residents’ voices are heard.  A good governance model forms the foundation of all decisions made at City Hall and is critical to ensuring democracy.

  • I’ve been calling and supporting efforts for governance review and will continue to work towards seeing Winnipeg’s model updated so there is fair and equal representation for all residents of Winnipeg,
  • Currently – fair and equal representation is not occurring,
  • I’ve written many articles on this issue,
  • I’ve provided recommendations on how to improve the governance model (PDF pg. 5).

I’ve also produced two videos depicting the current model, compared to other Canadian cities to help understand the current governance model.

Good governance assures that:

  • Corruption is minimized,
  • The views of minorities are taken into account
  • The voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.
  • The organization is responsive to the present and future needs of society.

To understand the importance of good governance, we can look at countries around the world and see how they are governed. We see countries with corruption that are ruled by a few – we see how minorities and the vulnerable are disregarded in the decision-making process.

The last time the City of Winnipeg updated its governance model was in 1997 – over 25 years ago. Industry best practices suggest organizations conduct governance reviews every 5-10 years.

Every election cycle, promises are made by Mayoral candidates to update the governance, but nothing has occurred in 25 years. I welcome any discussion on this issue.