Seven8Nine Hookah Lounge Takes Over for Garden House East Indian Cuisine

From 1978 on Paradise restaurant operated at Portage Avenue where it connects with Broadway. It all came to an end in 2019 pre-pandemic. The Italian family operating it had a second location and like a lot of restaurants, the issue of staffing was an issue. There might have been labour/management issues as well. In any event after 40 years, it was done.

It didn't seem long when the signage was changed and Garden House East Indian Cuisine went up. The Italian to Indian change was a good idea but the damage Covid has done to staffing is worse not better. And it is hard to say how many shutdowns and limitations affected Garden House. Alas though, in 2022, it is out of business.

New signage is up for Seven8Nine Hookah Lounge. I have looked for a website but have not seen one yet. Perhaps 2023 will be when it is up. Covid days were unkind to any hookah place. It will be interesting to see how this place fares.

There remains many closed restaurants across the city. Even today some government workers work from home which can be enough to hurt surrounding businesses. There seems to be a movement afoot to have more workers return but we may not see that until 2023. The best bet for many restaurants is to have a diverse clientele, some of who live very near by to keep the doors open. 

The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (Official Music Video) Terry Hall Dead at 63

I first saw The Specials in 1980 on Saturday Night Live and I was a fan for life of the group and everything Terry Hall did.  He has passed away December 19, 2022.

Earls Main to Become Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery

The first Earls arrived in Winnipeg in 1986 on St. James across from Polo Park. It was so popular that more were built including the Earls at 191 Main Street in 1994. For quite some time, it was the highest revenue Earls in town and one of the highest in Canada. Most people in town warned Earls that Main Street would be a failure and that people would die in a snowbank. They could not be more wrong. Instead, it was the 2006 Earls on Pembina that struggled and was eventually closed.

It goes to show that conventional wisdom was wrong on Earls at Main. For a time, there was a lot of foot traffic between a few places along Main. Earls, Grapes, Blue Note and Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club defied that dire prediction. Today, Times Change(d) remains and Blue Note is a vibrant summer outdoor place.

As for Earls, the city rejected a height change for a complete reconstruction at their location at 191 Main Street so they moved to a 6000 foot location in the new 300 Main Street tower, the tallest building in Winnipeg. This has left their 191 Main location across the street waiting for its next incarnation. The wait won't be much longer.

The owner of King's Head Pub Chris Graves is behind the renovations going on at the old Earls. The Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery is tentatively scheduled to open sometime in February of 2023. Make no mistake, the building is large inside with 240 seats inside and 140 outside. The menu is Maritimes pub style with local drinks and east coast foods. Graves used to live out east originally so knows something about the cuisine. His long time presence in the Exchange District should inform his choices at Earls old location.

Earls proved over many years that the location at 191 Main was a lively space to go before attending concerts, Jets games or events at The Forks. I suspect Friskee Pearl Bar and Eatery should meet up with success as well and their opening should coincide with later in the Jets and Moose season and might prove popular during play-off season

Liberal MP Jim Carr Dead at 71

After a three year battle with cancer, Jim Carr passed away December 12 surrounded by family. I did not know him well but ran in the same provincial election that saw 20 Liberals break through to become Official Opposition in the provincial legislature. The Liberals under Sharon Carstairs went from one seat to a party that had some outstanding MLAs in what had been a very polarized house. I went on to work in the legislature in late 1988/89 as well as working on the federal election that saw the Liberals go from one to seat to five in the province.

To put it bluntly 1988 was a time when some thought a death rattle for the Liberals both provincially and federally was sounding. From 1981-1986, there were only the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives in the provincial legislature. There were few times as toxic as that period in Manitoba history. It was an act of faith in 1988 to run as a Liberal either provincially or federally. Many were saying there should only be two parties. Some provinces were electing nearly all one party.

Carr at the time was a musician with the Winnipeg Symphony and arts council executive. A long time Liberal and faithful Jewish man, he put his name up against a powerful NDP cabinet minister Roland Penner. There had not been a provincial Liberal government since the 1950s so hardly anyone could say it was opportunistic. People were just that fed up of the bombastic politics in some of the most difficult years in Manitoba history.

In Manitoba, the electorate took a chance and Jim Carr was of the MLAs elected and became deputy leader defeating an NDP cabinet minister in the process. Serving for four years before moving into a Free Press journalism and then later as President and founder of the Business Council in Manitoba, Carr found ways to serve the province he loved.

In a highly charged partisan world, he managed to have the working relationships that only come from being respectful. For a time in the 1990s his name would always come up in conversation about mayoral elections. However, in 2015, he put his name up in the federal election for the Liberals headed up by Justin Trudeau. It was dark days for the Liberals nationally with only 36 seats. The NDP were the Official Opposition after their amazing run with leader Jack Layton, who fell to cancer and never would go on to live in Stornoway. Still, many thought the Conservatives under would defeat the opposition and perhaps but the nail in the coffin for the Liberals forever.

In a shocking reversal of fortunes, the Liberals won and Jim Carr, based on his political and business experience, would become a cabinet minister. Carr earned respect for his civility and his ability to come to deals in trade, intergovernmental relations and cross party collegial engagement. He loved his province, was active in the Jewish community and friend of Israel, a supporter of the arts and had a firm commitment to business. 

Cancer has been a battle he fought for three years. He was still working up till the last week, passing bills and making positive addresses to the Commons. In days when politicians are not held in high esteem, Carr earned respect and he strived to work with people to reach solutions to the issues of the day. We can only hope to see more of this type of public servant in office.

Christmas Eve On Sesame Street - 1978 (Bob McGrath in WHA Winnipeg Jets jersey)

Can Housing in Winnipeg Keep up With Demand?

As 500 apartments are built at Bison Drive and Centre Street in Bridgwater, you have to wonder if they will go up fast enough with Winnipeg's growth. The $200 million development of three buildings ranging from 6 to 8 storeys is underway with the first to be completed in 2024 and the last by 2030. With 11,000 people added to the area since 2016, it is only getting bigger and there is new construction on other places in the neighbourhood and beyond.

The present PC government is focused on turnpikes all along the Perimeter Highway presumably to add even more housing just outside the city. However, single family dwellings just won't cut it with the amount of people entering Canada. Winnipeg can expect a huge influx over the next few years. And for those asking why, the answer is a huge amount retiring from the baby boom. Business is already crying for more workers. And wage is not the only factor in not filling jobs. Unemployment is historically low and well paid jobs are not being filled simply because we don't have people in Canada either trained or available for the job. It is hard to unretire someone who has left the workforce and spends six months a year in Arizona.

For those who resent immigration, it is difficult to imagine who would staff manufacturers, healthcare or technology companies without it. Quebec has said they will limit immigration for language reasons. It seems that is a race to extinction of another kind. Want to see what a very rapidly aging population looks like that is not replacing its workforce, look to Japan where non-urban areas are being abandoned and no one is alive to keep them going. Japan's population is going down rapidly which has has major implications for prosperity and caring for that aging population.

The cost of business materials and shortages of workers is making it harder to build units of housing just when we need it the most. And people feeling costs but moving out of the city find that those costs don't stay low because of rising support of infrastructure and transportation costs to get to jobs. It is a vicious circle. The federal government is contributing money to affordable housing, Notable of the 500 units going up in Bridgwater at EpicCentre, 50 of them will be at 30 per cent below market rates. The federal absence from housing over the last decades save for financing was a mistake. Provinces often used transfer payments for tax cuts and other CMHC policies on mortgages favoured those buying detached houses.

The lack of a more coordinated effort of all three levels of government, four if you include school divisions, has meant affordable housing has gotten harder to get. This is reflected in growing amounts of people homeless. Rent can't keep rising 10% a year without more fallout. The lack of single room occupancy in Winnipeg has created a situation where a few thousand people are without permanent housing. 

Some tiny homes are coming onstream on Main Street shortly but they are millions over budget and very late because of the pandemic and supply chain issues. The closure of so many Main Street hotels discharged so many people onto the street. There were two few conversions like the Occidental and now the Bell hotel into small and affordable housing. Minneapolis has accelerated their plans to converted worn out motels to these affordable option. Government have bought these places rather than let them go to demolition. In Winnipeg we have cleared land and demolished hotels that stand vacant today.

As yet another homeless camp burns down, the need seems even more deadly apparent. Even in the 1970s when alcoholism was perhaps as destructive as the drug problem was now, you did not see homeless camps everywhere. Single room occupancy was the stopgap even if people thought it was not desirable. Today, small places and some form of support for income-based housing has to be the rule of the day.

As for the housing for other incomes, recognition that building massive highway, water, sewer, police, fire, social, community and education services for a low density area will only result in its failure. Greenbelt encroachments around cities like we see in Ontario takes up agriculture space that we don't get back. Worse, it creates demand beyond those greenbelt evens further afield. In Manitoba, we see urbanization outside Perimeter and those areas still rely heavily for coming into the city for jobs and services.

The new mayor has said he realizes he needed the suburbs to win election but that the problems of crime, public transportation and downtown will simply affect the city as a whole. Those won't be fixed by expanding Kenaston and Peguis. A serial killer caught and three missing indigenous women makes it difficult for elected officials to pretend that their job is limited to infrastructure. The deaths of these women is world-wide news and the vulnerability of our population, poverty and issues surrounding violence can't be overlooked.

The only way out of this cycle is to build housing like what is happening in Bridgwater with an affordable housing component. There just isn't enough. And while there are a ton of apartment housing going up along streets like Pembina Highway, it is generally not as affordable as it should be. It also points to the utter and complete failure of the University of Manitoba to build enough housing for the nearly 30,000 students it has. When students rent illegal room houses near the university, it shows that failure boldly.

Canada will grow most certainly but the housing policy has to grow or we will not be able to take students in, immigrants in, serve our elderly, end homelessness or make room for kids. And we certainly won't be able to take care of vulnerable people who are ending up dying every week.

Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club Returns to Winnipeg

Yuk Yuk's Komedy Kabaret opened in Winnipeg in 1986 and was the 12th location at the time of the Toronto-based comedy chain founded by Mark Breslin. The Osborne Village location at 106 Osborne for years prior had been the Osborne Theatre but became well known in the 1970s for Floating Ecstasy, a waterbed store. It was a time when Osborne Village became the trendy and higher density community it is today. By the mid 1980s, the waterbed days were waning and it was converted to a sofa shop. However, the second floor became a Yuk Yuk's with the comedy boom that was sweeping the city.

In 1984 Rumors Restaurant and Comedy Club was founded when it took over for Kappy's in the recently renovated Tuxedo Village mall. Around the same time the Al Golden owned hotel began doing very local comedy and now the new owners do the same thing. Winnipeg was an embarrassment of riches for comedy.

By 1991, Yuk Yuk's had closed and a series of night clubs succeeded it. But Yuk Yuk's is back in a pretty upscale place in 2023.

In January, Yuk Yuk's will occupy the club space downstairs at Fort Garry Hotel. It follows a revived comedy boom in Winnipeg where several establishments such as Limelight, Wee Johnny's, Handsome Daughter and The Basement offer up talent.

The Fort Garry Hotel continues to find ways to enhance what it offers. The patio and renovation of the Palm Room, the spa and continued service as a locally owned place keeps it relevant. The days of cabarets and nightclubs has declined. Hotels that used to have multiple dance clubs are finding new audiences with sports bars, karaoke and comedy clubs. Live music still has a place. The Marion Hotel for example is doing an only original music night. However, there is no denying that comedy has had a resurgence.

Winnipeg took the genesis of the last comedy wave to create the long lasting Winnipeg Comedy Festival. Make no mistake, we are movers and shakers in this industry.

The End of Lowe's in Canada

Lowe's parent company in the U.S. has sold the Lowe's/Rona in Canada to a private equity firm. The Lowe's name no matter what will no longer exist in Canada in 2023. The last time there was a series of closures in 2019, Manitoba was not affected. Given the dire condition of the company and the conditions of removing the Lowe's name, it seems unlikely that the company would like to have two Ronas on Kenaston.

I personally like Rona and here in the west, it operates much like Home Depot. This was a reflection of the days when it was Revy and started off with larger stores. But that is not what Rona has been like, especially in Quebec. It was small hometown feel and all had all manner of operations that were grass roots, independent dealers and stores not so large.

Certainly Lowe's could run a big store like we saw in Winnipeg. However, their corporate structure wasn't easily replicated in Canada. And just like Target, they have retreated with heavy losses.

In the end, Lowe's was paid $400 million U.S. to walk away. Their losses look to be $2 billion U.S. New owners Sycamore Partners will probably take a while to figure out their strategy. Not all of their assets are corporate. There are a lot of independent associates in their network. 

The independent dealers number around 210 stores and it is expected some might leave for one of three other buying groups. It depends on what the new owner Sycamore Partners does. They already own Staples in Canada but how the manage independent dealers will be the real test.

As for the 70 Lowe's brand corporate stores, they will all become Ronas or another name other than Lowe's.

Competition is important to every industry. The lack of it is demonstrated in things like concert ticket sales where only was seller can't help itself from somehow selling tickets to scalpers.  Taylor Swift fans confronted by $34,000 seat sales know too well. The same is true for hardware stores. Rona and Home Depot compete on price, location, service and selection. Lose one of the players and watch all those areas become less favourable to the consumer.

Watch for Lowe's signs to disappear soon. As for the big Lowe's store along Kenaston? The future doesn't look bright.

KUB Bread Closes

After nearly 100 years KUB Bread has come to a close. The local baker is a casualty of Covid 19. Like a lot of businesses, it struggled with loss of customers and difficulty hiring employees after and a much more cutthroat grocery market. As a supplier to sporting event centers like the Canadian Life Centre and IG Field, the sports lockdowns were an instant loss of business. The restaurants and socials that used to buy bags and bags of KUB bread evaporated during closures and restrictions.

The end of restrictions on Covid have not restored business as inflation, the difficulty in finding workers and the various customers who went out of business was too hard for a family owned company to struggle through. Add to that the rising cost with lower demand, they made the only decision they could.

The location at 850 Erin had a simple note explaining the closure and social media was ahead of almost everyone in spreading the word. All the stock was bought out a day early.

The Einfeld family as co-owners of the bakery said they were open to selling the KUB name but the bakery itself founded in 1923 would not see its 100th birthday. Thirty employees are affected by the closure and the owner himself will retire. The name KUB came from one of the four original partners. His name was Kucher and thus Kucher's Ukrainian Bread was shortened to KUB.

The oldest rye bakery shop in the city closing is quite sad. It will be interesting to see if someone will leap into the business before the bread cools.

JD Sports Coming to CF Polo Park

The 10th location in Canada of JD Sports is set to open in CF Polo Park in a matter of days. It is second floor location as the mall continues to seek out exclusive stores for Manitoba. The UK company started in Manchester in 1981 and is in 32 countries around the world. It has been in Canada only a year.

At 8000 square feet, the new store is fairly big and carries most of the big sports brands. The company is focused on local partnerships and promotion compared to some other retailers who are more nationally branded.

CF Polo Park has been trying to regain some big names as competition from St. Vital and Outlet Connection at Seasons has been keenly felt these last years.

Store opening November 19.

2022 Winnipeg Civic Election Results

Another election cycle has been completed and we welcome Scott Gillingham who replaces Brian Bowman who bows out after serving two full terms. We welcome first time Councillor Evan Duncan in Charleswood and returning Councillors Russ Wyatt in Transcona and Shawn Dobson in St. James.

I'm not sure we have seen the last of Kevin Klein or Shawn Nason and a number of others who were not successful in this civic election. In fact, Klein is already the nominated candidate running provincially for the PC's in Scott Fielding's former riding of Kirkfield Park. A byelection is due there by this December.

As far as the new mayor goes, Gillingham has filled the Executive Policy Committee with loyalists but kept his word at one fewer members. He has at least 14 positions in the mayor's office to fill and unlike Bowman who had a mix of Liberals, NDP and PCs hired, the new hires come from PC or civil service ranks and have worked with him before. Stability is the key and relationships important as we see Lukes, Chambers and Browaty on EPC.

This week Gillingham has met Premier Stefanson a few times, one for a provincial announcement on a new integrated police warrants unit to go after repeat offenders. It was the type of meetings that Bowman couldn't get. But then Pallister did not meet anyone save for demanding to meet with the prime minister to ask for more transfers even when they increased every year he was in office. He wanted them all for tax and service cuts. Stefanson is now left to deal with gutted departments and a deep distrust and unpopularity.  Forging cordial and productive relationships with Mayor Gillingham could spare her government a thrashing in a year. Maybe. 

The falling voter turnout numbers and acclamations points to a citizenry disengaged and apathetic about the system working for them. However, government would do well not to be smug that it doesn't matter. It could be their own supporters who stay home. For civic elections, the experience of voting has gotten easier but incumbency means that positions only open up when someone dies or leaves of their own accord. Rarely is an incumbent unseated in Manitoba. It raises the case of term limits or ranked ballots because while experience is great, if there is no change for decades, it stagnates the system.

There was a wide variety of mayoral candidates from progressive to conservative. Many had political party links to provincial of federal parties. But being a Liberal did not guarantee Liberal supported as witnessed by endorsements of Lloyd Axworthy for Gillingham or Shannon Sampert there as well. Why the endorsement? I can guess. Axworthy was former transport minister and while there are parts of the infrastructure plan he might disagree with, he probably agreed with a tax increase that was both reasonable and targeted on fixing things. For Sampert, it could have been the various indigenous groups that felt they had a partner in Gillingham. It might also been his appearances at Pride. As a former Christian pastor, he showed the aspects of faith in people that showed personal growth and a caring heart.

Small as the turnout was, it can be surmised that the voters wanted stability, a plan and credibility. The tax freeze/2.3% rise seemed to meet skepticism when Murray and Klein talked about it. It probably was because alternative funding depending on other governments or unspecified savings was hard to swallow. Gillingham also had some proposals such as Kenaston and Peguis requiring provincial and federal contributions but the public greeted the tax proposal as more realistic than other candidates.

One thing the public seemed to have no appetite for was someone who was looking to get in bun fights, culture wars or just looked like they could not work with others. Jenny Motkaluk had as much fight in her for The Forks as she did for her fellow candidates. Don Woodstock seemed to have more fight for Jenny Motkaluk than for other leading candidates. Scott Gillingham did raise the issue of Glen Murray's past record at the debate but it was after weeks of revelations by CBC that did not seem to have anything to do with springing a surprise on the former mayor.

It is unclear when the tide turned in the election and made it possible for Gillingham to win by four thousand votes, One thing is clear is that there was not a lot of polls released publicly. And too many decisions on who could participate in debates was made based on very early polls. 

To the candidates who lost, the question has to be: Is the mayor's job the only one suitable for you? It seems to me that some candidates could be effective Councillors but never seem to run for that job. 

As for the new mayor, crime remains a priority and he needs to keep working with the province because the Stefanson government has more levers to pull when it comes to the courts, social work, prisons, Crown prosecutors and mental health. Not to mention poverty, housing and addictions. The mayor though needs a better handle on policing.

The mandate is four years but I expect we see change early. Let's just see if a healthy dose of realism comes with it.

Winnipeg Comiccon October 28-30, 2022

Winnipeg Comiccon returns better than ever. This is the second year the organizers from Montreal at the helm. It has been hard even knowing how much of the RBC Convention Centre was even going to be available since the vaccine clinic was still operational till September. Last year's event was a half the space, with vaccine passport at the door and mask mandate. It was successful in that short sweet spot before a deeper shutdown only weeks later.

The locally run C4 Central Canada Comic Con in previous years from 2018 and back was the biggest convention held annually in Manitoba. Once the $180 million expansion of the convention was completed in late 2015, the enormous size and expense of the third floor became apparent to conventions that had previously operated there. Vendors found it pricey and corporate sponsorship became more important than ever. By 2019 C4 was not able to do a show. The requirement of staffing to do a pop culture show required an enormous commitment of time and expertise. Not to mention money.

In Canada now, the pop culture events are run by businesses that do several events a year and have staff year round. It is just too tough to not try economies of scale for guests, corporate sponsorship and working with local partners. The good news is well run events can be very good business for local vendors and artisans.

Winnipeg's Comiccon Halloween weekend timeslot has always been the best since it offers the perfect excuse for anyone to wear a costume. When critics say we need more people downtown, this is the type of event they talk about. Often the Jets are playing at the same time the convention is on and tens of thousands of people are in the streets.

We likely have not seen just how big Comiccon can become in Winnipeg going forward. It takes a lot of planning but people in the city have years of experience in pop culture get togethers. And these events don't operate without a lot of volunteers and outreach groups and locally hired staff. And loads of small businesses.

This year will feature three screenings of Phantom of the Paradise Friday and a screening and into of Army of Darkness by Bruce Campbell.

Lots of cosplays performers will be in attendance and the masquerade for best costumes.

And a Comiccon beer is also being introduced.

The convention runs October 28 to 30. Expect to great attendance this year.

Civic Election Debate 2022 - Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood/St. James Debate

 

Kudos to Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce and to the Holiday Inn Airport West for sponsoring and hosting the candidate debates for for two city council wards at the same time.

Video of the whole event is here:

https://www.facebook.com/AssiniboiaChamberMB/

Each ward had 5 candidates for the open seats left by Scott Gillingham in St. James and Kevin Klein in Charleswood. However, only four candidates each came. Word was Covid kept someone away although that was not conveyed in any announcement

A big hall was needed for those in attendance. Thanks to Holiday Inn Airport West. People were truly needing a final look at before deciding who to vote for. Certainly, I was in that category.

I voted the last next day after the debate based on what I heard and saw. Election day is Wednesday, October 26, 2022.

The format let each candidate have a few minutes before and after to make statements about who they were and why they were running. After a moderator, covered a host of topics from crime, to taxes. I will let people judge from their own viewing of the event if they are undecided.

Brad Gross was absent from the Charleswood side. Shawn Dobson was absent from the St. James side. It has not been easy finding details on candidates and I have tried. I have received flyers, I have checked out the community papers and I have searched online. I have not seen a lot on policy and this is what the debate tried to inform the public on.

Candidates who have been slow to release policy, donor info or were late getting to people at the door will find that thousands of people have already voted. And it might not be for them. Those running come from varied backgrounds but there have been several community activists and volunteers, a number of those who followed the Freedom slate of ideas, former candidates, business people. And as far as council, sadly, no women.

Like a lot of people at the debate, I wanted to hear policy. Moreover, there was a hunger to hear workable policies. Beyond the introduction, some candidates did get into policies and stated where they stood on tax. Some had innovative ideas but there were some focused on narrow areas. Experience campaigner were able to get their points across more clearly. Those that stood got more attention than those that sat.

There was a criticism in the St. James side about a candidate who works for IKEA. The association of of the person to the corporation's store location and sprawl was an unexpected spark of criticism. Candidates did interject on policy statements but that was an attack based on where a person works. 

On the point of IKEA, their land development was a brownfield redevelopment, The land was industrial. They paid for the intersection changes at Sterling Lyon and Kenaston. They built sidewalks when the city built none. The Outlet Collections Mall included a bus loop and residential development was included in the overall plan and non-stop housing has been built the last 10 years. IKEA itself has the most advanced geo-thermal plant. More housing has gone up at a former railyard and value added to the tax base inside city limits than almost any place else in the city. They are a $100 million business here and prior to arriving, people from the province ordered from the catalogue and had it shipped. There are 400 full and part-time workers employed.

 

IKEA doesn't owe any apologies to anyone in Winnipeg. And no one working there does either. If only every mall built the last 50 years included that much housing. The mall could easily be in Headingley.

There was some talk on infill which has been an issue in the city. IKEA above could be considered retail and residential infill. Certainly Kapyong will be infill of a military base. One candidate said there should be a three floor limit on Charleswood multi-unit development. Sadly, that likely won't be enough for those aging in the community to remain there. Is it is wonder they are moving to Seasons of Tuxedo?

On the issue of crime, there was a lot of talk of prevention, addiction and poverty. With two candidates from Justice and police, there was some interesting talk on reform and budget in that area.

Audience questions were written in and we were told that an email would come back with candidate responses. In my case, it will be too late. Based on the information I did have, I voted already.

Here is how I came to my decision on my vote:

What was the driving force that led them to running?

What connection did the candidate have to the ward?

What was their grasp of the issues?

Did they seem to be able to articulate a vision?

Did they seem to have the temperament to be in office?

Every election there are candidates for mayor, council and trustee who fall into categories unfit for office. One of those is the candidate that is there to get publicity for their brand. Prime example of that is Donald Trump who even his admirers know was there as much for his business brand and to make money. We had a mayor like that in Winnipeg.

Without guardrails, such a person in office will always run afoul of where their interests lay and where the public's lay.

Another type of candidate is the one that doesn't start in the mail room but believes they are are suited for the CEO's office.  Now, not everyone needs to work their way up from trustee to premier. But there ought to be an indication of life and work experience that might suggest a higher position. For example, Brian Bowman had no Council experience when he ran. But the feeling was that his job as a lawyer and life experience along with his platform was suitable for mayor. Even still, his lack of experience led him into political traps that any Council experience would have informed him on. Case in point: Portage and Main.

Another type of candidate is the one where Council seat is her first step to being Prime Minister. We have seen short term people move right on up including former mayor Glenn Murray.

Lastly, there is the firebrand candidate. We have a few Freedom Convoy types running, we have a few pro-Labour or pro-Commerce types, we have some special interest types running. We seem to have a few people running who would like to get into culture warfare. Invariably, this seems to be a recipe for fighting all the time. 

If one thing was clear, the Charleswood and St. James wards seem to want someone to commit to longer than 4 years, who knows the ward well, who is engaged in policy, can work well with others and is approachable.

I can't really vote for candidates I haven't seen or heard much from. In St. James, former Councillor Shawn Dobson seems to have the lead in signs. But I don't know his policies except he has talked about potholes a lot. For those in Charleswood, Brad Gross probably needed to do more to make people aware of him and what made him the best candidate.

I voted in St. James ward. There were four trustee candidates. One of them was caught on a Ring camera and was going through the mailbox. Not good and not easily explained. The other three were either incumbents or new and seemed intent to do the job of trustee. I voted for them. 

For council, I saw a few people running in St. James who were earnest, educated and community minded. Given that I think that crime is a leading issue, I considered police and changes in policing to be critical. For that reason and because of much experience in the Winnipeg Police, I voted for Tim Diack. He talked police reform and I think his knowledge there is unmatched.

For mayor, I looked at a number issues. Three of the present candidates, I have voted for in a number of elections in the past. However, I look at a host of things that had me evaluate this election if I could vote for them again. With inflation as big an issue this year as it is, with a number of collective bargaining agreements about to be decided and with infrastructure such as water and sewer and roads needing to be fixed, I looked at any tax freeze as possibly a double digit cut in city spending. Even committing to a 2% rise with inflation means an 8% cut.

Some candidates for mayor were not being candid about what cuts they were about to make. Or realistic they could cut wages or benefits and run afoul of the law. Again. And making proposals that depend of the province making your dreams come true is unrealistic. And while there will be federal money every year, it won't pay for all city functions.

I like Shaun Loney quite a bit but feel he is going to run smack right into fights because of other Councillors. Being able to work with Council is not overrated. It is an imperative. I am not completely happy with my pick and not even sure if he will win but I voted for Scott Gillingham. But I did think his proposal on taxes was most realistic even if I think there is no predicting on tri-level government support of his idea of Peguis and Kenaston expansion. Let's just say that is a while lot of negotiation still to happen.

Lastly, I can't vote in Charleswood but lived there many years and after attending the debate, I can say Evan Duncan is exactly the person that you like to see in office. His Justice experience, his long time community involvement and disposition overall should make him a valued member of City Council.

So to review, I voted for:

Mayor: Scott Gillingham

Councillor: Tim Diack

Trustees: Rachelle Wood, Craig Glennie, Michael Cabral

I'm just one voter. If you are more progressive, more conservative or want radical change or no change, you might choose someone different.

Whoever wins, I wish them well. And those not successful this time, remember that many candidates who did not succeed in being elected at some point often were elected some other time.

Assiniboinia Residential School in River Heights 2022

Just before Thanksgiving, I went to visit the Assiniboia Residential School Commemoration and Gathering Place at 621 Academy Road. It was a Catholic High School run by the Grey Nuns that operated from 1958 to 1973. By the fall of that year, I was about to enter Grade 3 and the school was closed. From 1970 to 1973, it was largely a day school as no one stayed overnight anymore. Most in River Heights really didn't know much about the school or the residential system.

Our family moved in in 1968/69 on Renfrew Street, none of the kids yet in Kindergarten. We moved to Kingsway in 1970 and my first year at Sir John Franklin Elementary school. There was not much Canadian in my curriculum materials. Dick and Jane talked about a President, not a prime minister. It was just 25 years after World War II and the one book in the library on the war was written by an RAF pilot on the Battle of Britain.

If this was my experience, imagine my parents. In the 1960s, we had under 10% go on to higher education whereas the U.S. was nearly 30% and rising fast. Vocation, technical and professional training was far behind. It was only in 1970 when it was mandated that teachers have a professional credential. The Canadian flag as we know it now only began to fly five years earlier.

What history education we did receive about Canada was about explorers and discovery of Canada by Europeans including Sir John Franklin, the school namesake. I got more education about Canada listening to As it Happens on CBC Radio from Harry Brown starting in 1968 and later joined by Barbara Frum than any schoolbook material available. As a five year in Kindergarten at Sir John, I didn't have a bike or could leave my block.

And yet, I knew about the Indian School in 1970 on Academy Road. We drove past it often headed to the St. James Y for swimming lessons in the one car the family had, a VW Beetle. It had become a day school by then but I vaguely remember being told it was much older kids and that nuns had lived there. My knowledge of nuns was limited to the Sound of Music from 1965. I heard the music much earlier than seeing it at Rainbow Stage or on TV. But at 1970, I had a certain image of what a nun looked like.

My first home as a newborn was downtown in the Ambassador Block. As my sister and brother came along, we moved to rental houses in places like Elmwood and such till settling in River Heights. By 1973, the Indian School closed. As an 8 year old, it was bewildering. My parents had no insight into it at all either. By the time I was able to ride a bike to places like Assinibone Park down the monkey trails, it was past an empty school building that stayed that way for decades.

It was not until I was well into university that that I heard how widespread and abusive the residential school system was. The first apology came from the United Church in 1986. Government apologies would not come till 20 to 25 years later. And action is still in progress. The public often only experienced the effects of the system and not the cause. It is why the discovery of all the graves this short while was a shock to the much of the Canadian public.

My family lived in River Heights for fifty years and I love the area to this day. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, I went to the memorial on Academy Road. As luck would have it, an Elder from the school was there. You can see him in the picture above. He spent his high school days on Academy and was able to tell me everything about the days before 1973 and I was able to tell him everything that happened after. And in 2022, it all came to together.

Inside the circle is a list of every community that had students come to the school. And on paving stones, the students names were written. Many names are yet to be added. And more done to the memorial in the new year including lights, landscaping and if lucky, benches for Elders who need somewhere to rest, to contemplate. The Elder and his sister, also an Elder, showed me their names. They showed me people who had passed away, some who struggled and he showed me lots who succeeded. 

As far as anyone knows, and this was from the Elders, no one is buried at Academy. And no one died there. But many struggled and died as a result of the trauma which we learned in detail from the Truth and Reconciliation meetings.

This was not a somber visit. It was a beautiful day, it is an amazing memorial and the Elder was full of information and stories that I was happy to hear. He laughed a lot. I told him how tobogganing and baseball had been long time activities after 1973.

It is worth a visit and with luck maybe an Elder will be there as well. The only way to know history is for the story to be told. And the reason history is taught is because it can tell us a lot about who we were and what we would like to become.

I know I will visit again. I can't wait to see it lit up. 

Bois des Esprit Thanksgiving Walk 2022

My walk trough Bois des Esprits spirit woods Friday of the Thanksgiving weekend in 2022.