Balcaen ready to campaign after getting green light

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This article was published 24/07/2023 (811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Recently retired Brandon Police Service chief Wayne Balcaen is eager to begin his provincial campaign in earnest, having clinched the PC Party nomination for Brandon West during a candidacy election that took place last Wednesday at Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill.

While Balcaen was the only candidate to choose from — with past Riverbank Discovery Centre general manager James Montgomery dropping out of the race back in June — the city’s former top cop told the Sun over the weekend that he’s happy to receive this blessing from the party and its local members.

“Obviously [the result] went where I wanted to see myself go,” Balcaen said on Saturday.

“And now that I’m the official candidate, I’ll be digging into the full election cycle and make sure I’m out there knocking on doors and meeting people.”

Balcaen is no stranger to connecting with the public, having originally joined BPS in 1990 and served as a member of the administration over the last eight years.

This includes his run as the police service’s 19th police chief, which began in the fall of 2017 and ended in late June when he announced his retirement from the force.

Still, Balcaen sees campaigning for elected office as a brand new arena, which is why he’ll be relying on more politically savvy folks and current PC MLAs, like soon-to-retire Brandon West representative Reg Helwer, for guidance as he moves forward.

“Obviously I’m going to [listen] to the people who have done this in the past and take their advice,” he said. “So my next step will be building a team and starting to get out there and do door knocks and public engagement.”

In terms of the kinds of topics that Balcaen expects to discuss with constituents, public safety and crime will obviously be at the forefront given his over 30-year career in law enforcement.

Some of Balcaen’s advocacy as BPS chief is still being felt even after he stepped away from the role on June 23.

A week after his retirement, BPS swore in its new team of “Brandon Community Cadets,” four local youth who will be patrolling the community to assist officers with traffic control and scene management.

This initiative falls directly in line with Balcaen’s previous calls for alternative policing strategies that don’t involve armed officers responding to every situation, especially calls involving those suffering from mental health crises.

“We’re never going to arrest our way out of those sorts of situations,” Balcaen told the Sun earlier this year. “Looking upstream … ‘how we can help people and giving them off-ramps to support?’ has got to be part of models going forward.”

However, a more complicated part of Balcaen’s legacy is Brandon’s new “Community Standards Bylaw,” which he had a hand in crafting before it was passed by city council on July 17.

While the bylaw is designed to increase property upkeep standards, it also adds new definitions for ticketable offences like loitering and panhandling, which some have argued could give police broader authority to target vulnerable members of society.

“I understand the idea of unobstructed, safe streets, but the impact of a lot of this legislation is that it ends up criminalizing those most in need,” Toronto-based civil litigator Stephany Mandin told the Sun earlier this month.

Coun. Heather Karrouze (Ward 1) even attempted to remove these new definitions from the bylaw during the July 17 council meeting, although her amendments were ultimately defeated.

“My concern is that we’re offering at best a band-aid fix which does not address the underlying factors that result in loitering and panhandling such as homelessness, poverty, addiction,” Karrouze said during the meeting.

When asked about the “Community Standards Bylaw” over the weekend, Balcaen was hesitant to comment, stating that such municipal matters would fall outside the scope of his responsibilities as a provincial representative.

However, he still stands behind his work on the bylaw, stating that it was built in consultation with the city administration to streamline previous bylaws that dealt with issues involving public nuisances (noise, parking, etc.) and derelict vehicles.

Over the next weeks and months, Balcaen hopes to demonstrate his status as a well-rounded candidate who has a keen interest in issues outside of crime, like economic development, education and mental health.

“Of course I’ve kept pace with justice issues and a lot of those really do bleed into health and mental health,” he said. “And having had two children go through the education system here, and now grandchildren starting, I certainly have an interest in making sure that that remains top of mind.”

Looking at the political landscape for Brandon West, Balcaen could be facing off with at least two opponents in the upcoming fall election. Not only has retired teacher Bill Marsh decided to run for the Green Party of Manitoba, but former United Church minister and family therapist Quentin Robinson seeks the Manitoba NDP’s nomination in the riding.

While the PCs have held Brandon West since 2007, Balcaen doesn’t believe that the upcoming election is a foregone conclusion and will do his best to cast a wide net for prospective voters.

“I believe that there’s a lot of individuals looking for an MLA that will represent their area and their interests,” he said. “So I’m hoping that my public service, and what I’ve accomplished in my time as a public servant, will help them decide when it comes to voting day.”

Under Manitoba’s fixed-term election legislation, the next provincial election must be held on or before Oct. 3.

In the Spruce Woods riding, former legislative staffer Grant Jackson (PC) and entrepreneur Michelle Budiwski (Liberals) have announced their intention to replace retiring incumbent Cliff Cullen.

Meanwhile, Brandon East has candidates from all three major parties nominated, with incumbent Len Isleifson (PC) running for re-election against teacher Glen Simard (NDP) and Assiniboine Community College instructor Trenton Zazalak (Liberals).

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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