How will Winnipeg’s new mayor engage the city’s faith communities? That’s the question posed to candidates in late September.
I reached out to local faith community leaders for
specific issues they wanted to see addressed by the candidates. They came up
with three questions.
First, knowing the contributions made by faith groups to help the
marginal and vulnerable in the city, what would the candidates do as mayor to
recognize and support those efforts?
Second, what would they do to address and combat
antisemitism and Islamophobia?
And third, what could the city do to help
congregations with aging buildings, especially in the core, maintain these
buildings so they could continue to serve people in the area?
Candidates who replied were Shaun Loney, Rick Shone, Glen Murray, Chris
Clacio, Scott Gillingham, Rana Bokhari, Jenny Motkaluk and Kevin Klein. Below
find their full responses. Their edited responses were published in the
Winnipeg Free Press on October 8.
Shaun Loney
I'm an active member at St. Mary's Road United
Church. I also attend Indigenous ceremonies regularly including at the
Sandy Saulteaux Centre near Beausejour.
My job as Mayor will be to help us see
our assets in the City to make measurable progress on the issues that we're
struggling with but we need new and modern tools to connect what we have to
what we need.
The question is, what role can our
faith communities play in helping the City address issues like homelessness and
poverty and what does that look like in 2022, here in Winnipeg.
I want to partner with faith
communities to help Winnipeg emerge out of an old paradigm where we treat
people living in poverty as though there is something wrong with them and to
see they have been interacting with failed systems and outdated
institutions.
The way I see it, Winnipeg's defining
issue is our ability to connect the people who most need the work with the work
that most needs to be done. Social enterprises lean into a business model
that embeds love and compassion into our economics. They hire people with
barriers to employment. As Mayor, I'd love to partner with faith
communities who are struggling with underutilized church buildings to see
employment opportunities emerge for new Canadians, Indigenous and others left
out of the labour market.
How about a few faith communities with
underutilized buildings working with the City to see new housing opportunities
for women getting out of jail and those same women being able to work in a
coffee shop on the main level?
How about an Islamic community hosting
a social enterprise that hires refugees to paint? One week it's completing
painting jobs that have been contracted by the City and the next it's working
on getting a driver's license or learning English.
We can begin to see
"problems" like underutilized buildings or refugee unemployment as
opportunities when we take as asset-based approach and see the potential in
each other.
The outcomes generated by ventures like
these—including providing supportive housing for those living on our
streets—have important financial benefits to our overburdened emergency
services such as police, fire and ambulance. As Mayor, I will modernize
how nonprofits and emergency service providers partner with each other to
recognize the important financial benefits that nonprofits have in lowering the
workloads.
How about a church hiring people with
physical disabilities to visit lonely seniors who are regularly calling 911 out
of sheer loneliness? The Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service would have a
financial interest in the impacts that this activity would have on their daily
dispatches.
These social enterprise activities
would have positive revenue implications for faith communities that can add to
their donations. Faith communities already use social enterprise
strategies—selling tickets to a fall supper or a musical put on by members of
the congregation.
Others, such as MCC, sponsoring thrift
shops to do social good. Let's do a lot more of this, in new and
interesting ways. As Mayor, I will make this a clear option for faith
communities to partner with the City to work together to solve our most
stubborn problems.
Antisemitism and Islamophobia are
indeed growing problems. In 2015, when PM Harper announced a snitch line to
report "barbaric cultural practises" my partner Fiona and I organized
an event at the Central Mosque. We expected 30 people to show up, to show
some love for our Islamic neighbours—and 300 showed up. Here's the news of the
event in the Winnipeg Free Press and another from Global TV. As Mayor, I
want to be very active in helping Winnipeggers in embracing diversity of all
kinds to see the potential in each other.
Rick Shone
I know, from experience, that faith groups play a
huge role in the function of our society. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church
and was a youth leader into my university days. I went to a Christian Reformed
school and a Mennonite high school (MBCI) and completed a minor in religious
studies at the U of M. The values of these communities have shaped and
informed the person I am today.
Many faith groups are so active in the wider community and all the
efforts of these volunteers makes a difference. I would love to see the
city partner more with faith groups to address social issues. When I decided to
run for mayor, I knew that if the city could develop better partnerships
with faith groups, biz groups, neighbourhood associations, etc. we could
achieve so much more as a team when we work together to solve these
challenges.
I currently sit on the board of the West End Biz and have been on the
board of the Central Neighbourhoods Association, so I have seen first-hand the
struggle it can be for organizations when partnering with the city.
Winnipeg must be a city where all people feel safe and supported. This
is my goal and I do not support any type of hate. In our household, my wife and
I have raised our kids to respect others. We have raised them not to judge, to
get to know people and their stories. We have many friends from both of these
communities but there are also so many others who do not feel supported and
safe in Winnipeg.
My vision is to live in a city with a heart, one that supports and
accepts others. It starts with education and then creating opportunities from
different ethnic backgrounds, faiths, etc. to be able to meet, mix and get to
know one another.
The question of older buildings is is a great one I've thought of often
as I've seen our aging members and Presbyterian churches. When it comes to
upgrading/renovating, etc. I do think the city can be much more expedient in
granting permits and ensuring that certain things remain grandfathered so as to
not trigger costly upgrades.
Many congregations are realizing that they must use the building more
than just on Sundays or service days. They are indeed perfect buildings that
can be used for community gatherings of all kinds, including City of Winnipeg
leisure guide programs. Day care, weddings and many other functions can be held
in church buildings. These programs can help pay for rent and upgrades to the
building to ensure that they remain prominent in the community for a long time
to come.
Glen Murray
Many of the best social outreach programs in our
city are run by faith-based organizations. It is integral that the city reduce
and remove roadblocks that prevent these organizations from fulfilling their
mission. Together we can work to achieve better outcomes for groups looking to
make an impact.
As a member of a community that has
been historically marginalized and attacked, I personally understand the
challenges prejudice and hate can cause. It is important that the Mayor always
be on the front lines, combating all types of hate in our City. We must ensure
Winnipeg is always a welcoming, accepting and open place for people of all
faiths.
It’s important that we always
appreciate that Winnipeg has many beautiful historic buildings. While the city
cannot engage in a broad scale program to restore privately-owned buildings, we
can and must always play a role in ensuring that we have beautiful public
spaces in good repair. I am open to hearing all ideas from community leaders
for how the city can help.
Chris Clacio
Thank you for your email and the questions I've been meaning to
engage with the faith groups for many years, but I've been personally unaware
of how to do that.
As Mayor I would start by visiting every faith group in Winnipeg to discuss
how the city of Winnipeg and the Office of the Mayor could do better engagement
to reach out to the different groups in our city and include them in the civic
process within city hall.
After the first initial meetings with every single faith group, I would
set up a meeting with all the leaders of the faith groups I meet with to begin
the dialogue and discussions to address our relatives that are struggling and
need support in our city.
I do see and believe that going forwards in the post-covid world where
we exist in the city of Winnipeg needs different faith groups to be at the
table and be involved in the solutions that the city could partner up to
address topics of concern in Winnipeg.
Early in the election I made an announcement that I will rebrand
the Office of Public Engagement into the Office of Civic Engagement. What makes
this office different from the current form is if you as a resident or as a
group of residents have an initiative or project you want to do in your
neighbourhood you would reach out to this division, and they would connect you
with your local councilors and specific department staff to help fund and
implement the program.
The best summary of how this office would operate would be what in the
municipal sector is called a civic innovation lab which is based on social
innovation labs. The second part of my announcement was the creation of a
four-year participatory budgeting process.
As mayor I would work with both the Jewish and Muslim citizens within
our wards and neighbourhoods to address all forms of antisemitism and
Islamophobia within our city. Over my 7 years working with urban indigenous
young people in the inner city of Winnipeg, one important gift they have taught
me about working alongside other citizens who I myself don't represent or speak
for is to first get to know the citizens that come from the Jewish and Muslim
communities.
During my time helping and supporting urban indigenous young people in
the city it was through always showing up every Friday at 6pm since August 2014
at 470 Selkirk Ave. At the Indigenous Family Centre that I was able to connect
with and see different citizens from all walks of life coming together to
"stop the violence and build community'' 52 times for 9 years
straight.
The only way I know how to make all citizens safe is to see more
investments within the city go towards recreational, museums, parks, pools, and
libraries services. This is the only way I believe we can improve our citizens'
safety.
There are many things the city can do to help different groups maintain
and utilize these old church buildings so they can continue to serve all
citizens. The difficulty at the moment is all about accessibility for
citizen-based organizations to work in collaboration with the city to better coordinate
with all stakeholders to implement the initiatives which is why the Office of
Civic Engagement would be an asset in organizing with all faith groups, Jewish,
Muslim, and Christian based organizations within the city.
This would allow for easier communication with city staff, mayor's
office, your city councillor, and the citizens to design, develop, and evaluate
city services for aging church buildings.
I have a complicated relationship within my life related to my faith and
it wasn't until the pandemic began and my own journey of reconciliation of
showing up every Friday and helping urban indigenous young people building up
the neighbourhoods of the mature and inner city for almost 7-8 years.
My family immigrated from the Philippines during the time of martial law
being placed by the federal government back in 1974. My Mom had arrived here in
1982; 10 years prior to my birth in June 1992. Growing up here on Turtle
Island; Winnipeg no one in my family ever explained to me about how to speak
Tagalog, the history of the Philippines, or my family's relationship with Roman
Catholicism. All I knew growing up was that I was non-practicing Catholic and I
had seen my own immediate and extended family members always following prayer.
As I attended University to study politics I had joined several atheist,
agnostic, philosophical student groups trying to figure out whether I believe
in those beliefs. When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released
their final report back in 2015, I had already been learning from many urban
indigenous young people how indigenous knowledge had been systematically been
misrepresented or excluded in many places within our city. As the pandemic grew
my relationship to the Meet Me at The Bell Tower slowed down where I was always
connecting with different citizen-based organizations.
June 2022 that was the year I turned 30 years old, reflected on my life
(and lived experiences), and learned more about my relationship to my own
faith. I still consider myself a non-practicing Catholic but now I understand a
little bit about my mom's family relationship to Roman Catholicism through
learning about the colonial process that happened in the Philippines by the
Spanish from 1565 to 1898 and the United States from 1902 to 1946.
As part of the self reflection of learning about all this history of my
family's homeland and its similar process that happened here to First Nations,
Metis, and Inuit peoples. I can now see why I had struggled to figure my
relationship to a higher authority.
Scott Gillingham
As a former pastor for over 20 years, I have a deep appreciation for the important contributions faith communities make to the health and strength of our city. The congregations I led were always actively involved as partners with organizations like Winnipeg (now Manitoba) Harvest, downtown missions; Union, Siloam and Lighthouse, Adult and Teen Challenge, helping refugees and other newcomers to Winnipeg. We were intentionally focused on building up our city.
The theme of my campaign is “Uniting to Build a Stronger Winnipeg. Government is not the answer to every challenge facing the people of our city, nor can government alone do all that needs to be done to address the poverty, addiction and homelessness in Winnipeg. For more than a century in Winnipeg faith communities have been and remain on the front lines of meeting the social needs of Winnipeggers. I take this opportunity to thank them for their quiet, faithful work bringing help and hope to people of all ages and walks of life.
I envision a city where all partners, including faith communities, are at the table, appreciated, empowered and working together in a coordinated manner to address Winnipeg’s shared social challenges and seize our opportunities.
As Mayor, I will lead the coordination of the contributions made by every sector, including faith communities, senior levels of government, Indigenous governments, the business community, educators, non-profits and more. Each sector has a role to play in building a stronger, healthier Winnipeg where all people have the opportunity to benefit. By coordinating our efforts we can identify and address areas of overlap and gaps so the people we are serving get the help they need.
Over the past several months of my mayoral campaign I have been very engaged with various and diverse faith communities across Winnipeg. I am encouraged by their commitment to making Winnipeg a stronger city. They are dedicated to helping address the social needs many fellow-Winnipeggers face.
Earlier this year, I used my social media platforms to denounce in the strongest terms the appearance of an antisemitic flag at a rally in Winnipeg.
As Mayor, I will continue to denounce antisemitism, Islamophobia and will work to foster a city that is growing in mutual acceptance, understanding and appreciation.
A few months ago, I attended a forum at the Grand Mosque on Waverley St hosted by the Manitoba Islamic Association. The topic of Islamphobia was discussed and was a followup to the recent report, ‘Community Experiences with Islamophobia’.
The presence of the antisemitic flag and the report outlining the experiences forum shows Winnipeg still has work to do to eradicate hate and intolerance in our community.
As Mayor, I will actively engage all faith and cultural communities to listen and understand what they are experiencing in Winnipeg. By knowing what communities are facing we can find ways to address it. I will work to make our city a place where all people feel welcome, safe and at home in Winnipeg.
As a former pastor I can appreciate that some congregations with older buildings can get to the frustrating stage where they feel they are spending their time on money serving the building instead of the people of the community.
As Mayor, I will be open to support rezoning of older church buildings so that appropriate adaptive reuse may be accommodated. For example, the conversion of St. Mathews Anglican Church to the West End Commons housing community is an example of an aging church building that was transformed into 26 apartments offered at affordable rents through a no-profit structure.
I recognize that beyond the tangible work of addressing social needs, faith communities strengthen the fabric of our city by promoting values of love for others, generosity, honesty, service, mutual respect and hope. Lived out, these values strengthen individuals and build families. As Mayor, I will always appreciate the importance of faith communities to Winnipeg’s future hope and success.
I am a Christian and
attend church regularly.
Kevin Klein
First, thank you for reaching out to the
candidates to address these challenges within the Faith-Based
community. I imagine that over the years you have tried to reach out
to those in power to achieve meaningful discussion and have
received many empty promises. I will try to answer based on my proven
track record and personal history.
There is a culture at City Hall that fears
the repercussions of allowing religious groups to participate and
receive funding for social issues in Winnipeg. I find this
disappointing given how much help religious organizations give to the
vulnerable. Every organization that provides service should have a
seat at the table. There is a massive amount of funding that goes to
organizations in the city but no accountability as to where the
funding is going or what kind of results are achieved.
When elected, I will open the opportunity for
funding to any non-profit organization who is willing to help and
will require more accountability from those already receiving funding
to ensure that funding is being used wisely and prudently.
I am fortunate to have made many personal
connections within both the Jewish and Muslim communities during my
time in Winnipeg. I value them as friends and advisors and will continue
to maintain these connections and listen as Mayor. I believe
these connections with community leaders will enable me to be aware
of issues quickly and I would rely on their input to treat them with
the cultural sensitivity that they deserve and provide them with the
assurance that their safety is crucial.
While church buildings are private property
and do not fall under the purveyance of the city, I believe that we
can still help make upkeep and renovations easier by making them less
costly. During this campaign I have committed to reducing the cost of
permits for non-profits by 75%. When elected mayor I would work
with council to help them understand the importance of preserving
these aging buildings within the communities that they serve.
I hope that I have answered your questions
clearly. As a child I was often one of the vulnerable who
relied on the charity of others, so I understand how important
religious organizations are to the community.
Finally, I am reminded of a story my father-in-law
(a retired minister) tells of how important it is to serve the
community.
Their church building was next door to a
middle-school and the kids who smoked would come hang out on the church
steps as they couldn’t smoke on school property. Graffiti,
destruction, and garbage became a huge issue. As opposed to forcing
them off the property, the ladies of the church began a lunch
program and invited the kids in for a free meal every week.
Not only did the graffiti and destruction stop,
but years later my father-in-law would run into these kids who told him
how that small act of kindness encouraged them to make different
choices in life.
Jenny Motkaluk
Religion/faith is a personal matter. The government doesn't and should never
tell congregants what to believe. At the same time the good works that faith
groups do is a reflection of their moral beliefs and support broader social
goals. Where those efforts provide a benefit to the community as a whole, the
City should be a good partner. Just as the City should be a good partner
to anyone whose efforts will make Winnipeg stronger.
Winnipeggers deserve leadership that supports the passion,
ambitions, and dreams of all of us. Recently, I participated in the
redevelopment of Augustine United Church into Augustine Centre, which includes
Oak Table and SPLASH Daycare as two partners that offer substantial support to
the broader community. The City could have been a better partner in that
process and when I'm Mayor, it will be.
Winnipeg is a great city because of the people who choose to live
here. We are the most diverse city in the country and everyone who lives
here is first and foremost a Winnipegger in my view. People who want to
inject the violent politics of other countries halfway around the world into
Winnipeg, must know that there will be zero tolerance for anything other than
reasoned debate. I believe Israel has a right to exist.
When Jews, Muslims or any other Winnipeggers are harassed and attacked
in our city, I will speak out against it and take action. I reject Woke
Culture, BDS, and equity policies because they are often used as a disguise for
antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.
Churches are a big part of the urban mosaic and many congregations are
facing the same challenges of dwindling and aging membership which reduces
their ability to maintain their Churches. Augustine Centre is a great
example of a congregation responding to this challenge and should be looked on
as a model for others, such as Rosh Pina which was recently listed for
sale.
Sadly, the City of Winnipeg acted more as a barrier to success in that
project than a champion. In particular, delays in the permit office
proved very costly to their redevelopment efforts. As Mayor, I will create
high performance departments so that City Hall starts working with us rather
than against us.
I identify as a Winnipegger. As a kid, I was raised in the
Ukrainian Catholic community, I went to Immaculate Heart of Mary School and
attended several churches in the North End of Winnipeg, including St Joseph's
and St Andrew's.
Rana Bokhari
Recognizing the challenges that marginalized, racialized and vulnerable
people in our city face is one the most important issues in this campaign. How
the government at all levels have addressed these issues thus far, is perhaps
one of our society's greatest failures. As a Human Rights candidate, as a woman
who believes that how we treat our most vulnerable is a reflection of our
society—I believe that drug, addiction and mental health issues require all
groups, community, faith and others partnering together to do better.
I understand the challenges both the Jewish and Muslim communities face.
I have lived experience dealing with Islamophobia. The City has a role to play
in creating safe communities, safe places of worship and safety on the streets
free from any violence rooted in antisemitism and Islamophobia. This starts
with education, lifting the voices of those communities and ensuring that we
come together to celebrate our achievements and also our hardships shoulder to
shoulder.
I acknowledge that some very important landmarks and old church
buildings continue to serve invaluable services to all community members.
Whether it is through programs, shelter, gathering spaces or food banks.
One of the main pillars of my campaign is community, we would work
together to ensure we are supporting the community who rely on these spaces by
working with various Christian denominations that are continuing the great work
despite all odds.
