Winnipeg safety group makes downtown visit

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/08/2024 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Representatives from Winnipeg’s Downtown Community Safety Partnership visited the Wheat City on Thursday to tour Brandon and discuss what successes the program has seen.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett told the Sun that the eventual goal is for Brandon to create its own version of the partnership, though it would be more complicated than just cutting and pasting Winnipeg’s approach.

Established in 2020, the DCSP was created as a partnership between the province, the City of Winnipeg, the Downtown Winnipeg Biz, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, Winnipeg Police Service and True North Sports + Entertainment to provide around-the-clock support to people living, working and visiting downtown Winnipeg.

After their meeting at Brandon City Hall on Thursday morning, the party of four from Winnipeg came to the Sun’s offices for an interview about their visit.

Greg Burnett, the executive director of the DCSP, said he has spoken with Fawcett and other Brandon representatives several times in the past few years on how they could collaborate, though this was the first time they’ve headed out west.

“Our main point of success so far is the ongoing collaboration we’re building with different agencies and partnerships downtown and working together to solve those complex problems that are not only common in Winnipeg, but Brandon and quite frankly throughout the country,” Burnett said.

“We’re all struggling with different ways of improving everybody’s health and safety and we’ve had, I think, great success in helping folks both from the vulnerable sector, at-risk folks, businesses, people living, playing, working, enjoying downtown … and trying to improve those perceptions of safety and also the realities of safety.”

He said cities at large are trying to figure out how they can pool supports and resources to deal with increasingly complex mental health and addictions-related challenges.

Beyond collaborating within a single city, Burnett said it helps to have people visit other communities to share stories and best practices.

“I think you’ve got a great base to work from here (in Brandon),” he said. “You’ve got great people here helping out your city. We sat at a table with a number of organizations from the city, social sector, policing and transit. When you’re all talking at one table about the issues and challenges we all face, only good things could come.”

On top of Thursday’s visit, Burnett said Brandon representatives have also come to Winnipeg to see what the DCSP is doing.

Burnett said Thursday’s meeting was preliminary and he thinks it will lead to more work going forward.

During last year’s provincial election campaign, former premier and Progressive Conservative leader Heather Stefanson had promised $2 million to extend Winnipeg’s program to Brandon if her party secured another term in government.

While he wasn’t sure if the current NDP government was looking to follow along the same lines, Burnett said they are “very supportive” of initiatives like the DCSP and the Bear Clan patrols in both Winnipeg and Brandon.

In a phone interview, Fawcett said he believed the NDP were still on board with the idea of bringing a similar partnership to Brandon to build on the work already being done by the Brandon Police Service, BPS cadets and service groups.

“A lot of stuff’s going on off the corner of our desks that these guys are putting together,” Fawcett said.

“How do we just work the best we can together using some of their practices to just generally improve things for everybody in the downtown in particular?

“We’re doing lots — it’s just not formalized.”

The mayor pointed to a $100,000 funding announcement Justice Minister Matt Wiebe made last month as an example of the province’s willingness to partner.

The Sun reported at the time that the funds being provided to the city came after Brandon expressed interest in Winnipeg’s program.

“In this case, the mayor and the city have been very clear that they’re interested in this model,” Wiebe said at the time. “They brought it up with us and they want to pursue it, so we’re stepping up to support them.”

Another member of the Winnipeg delegation was Kevin Walker, executive director of that city’s Bear Clan Patrol. He praised the Brandon Bear Clan for having a great reputation for its work and being proactive in dealing with downtown issues.

Leading the delegation on a walking tour of downtown Brandon was Emmy Sanderson, executive director of the Brandon Downtown BIZ.

“I’m really excited because I think what they’re doing in Winnipeg is fairly revolutionary,” she said.

“I think they’re paving the way with a new way to work with the community at large. What I learned was that a downtown community safety partnership would be a wonderful business support as well as supporting the challenges in the community.”

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» X: @ColinSlark