Winnipeg mayor stands by councillor who heads city’s police board

WINNIPEG — Members of the indigenous community have expressed concern about a Winnipeg councillor’s role as chairman of the city’s police board after a comment he made about sensitivity training on residential schools.

Jeff Browaty spoke out this week against the half-day training initiative for city workers, saying they could better spend their time filling potholes and cutting grass.

Browaty later apologized for his comments.

Mayor Brian Bowman said Friday in a statement the city’s Indigenous Advisory Circle questioned whether Browaty’s views “are in keeping with the philosophy of the Winnipeg Police Service” and asked if he should continue as chair.

However, the mayor, who has accepted Browaty’s public apology, said that he will stay on in the role.

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The Indigenous Advisory Circle advised Browaty to meet with elders and discuss the impact his words have had on reconciliation efforts and the community.

They also recommended that he receive further education of residential schools in addition to the training he has already committed to.

Bowman urged Browaty to accept the suggestions made by the advisory group.

“I also recommended that he identify and undertake whatever steps he feels necessary, as police board chair and a civic leader, to demonstrate his desire to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of reconciliation,” Bowman added.

Bowman has declared 2016 the year of reconciliation in Winnipeg after Maclean’s magazine dubbed the city the most racist in Canada.

(CTV Winnipeg)

The Canadian Press