City unlikely to pursue forced leaves for councillors facing criminal charges
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/06/2019 (1933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A motion tabled last year that would have forced then-city councillor Russ Wyatt to take a paid leave of absence after he was charged with a sex crime is expected to be dropped at next week’s executive policy committee meeting.
After conducting a review of the policies of numerous Canadian cities — including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Ottawa and Toronto —Winnipeg’s public service found no other municipalities have such a policy in place.
A report outlining the findings will be tabled at next Tuesday’s EPC meeting.
Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) and former councillor Mike Pagtakhan put forward the motion in July 2018 seeking to have the province amend the Winnipeg Charter, making it mandatory for council members to take a paid leave of absence if charged with certain serious offences.
Gilroy argued the change was needed to create a safe workplace environment for all civic employees. That came just nine days after Wyatt was charged with what police called a “serious sexual assault” — the term they use to describe what’s commonly called rape.
“I think the concern is we might be violating human rights codes. So I think—I’m not sure where we can go with that as a city. Those are things I haven’t really had the opportunity to dive into,” Gilroy said, when asked about the report Wednesday.
WYATT’S WILD 2018
Jan. 25: Wyatt requests a leave of absence from his duties at city hall. City officials later say he’s dealing with a personal family matter.
Jan. 25: Wyatt requests a leave of absence from his duties at city hall. City officials later say he’s dealing with a personal family matter.
March 23: The Free Press reveals Wyatt is in rehab for alcoholism and drug abuse at the Aurora Recovery Centre in Gimli.
May 24: Wyatt returns to work at city hall, saying his time in rehab was life-changing and that he’s coming back with a newfound outlook on life.
June 4: At the annual Winnipeg Pride parade, Wyatt comes out as bisexual, saying he’s been leading a double life.
June 21: Wyatt announces he will not seek another term in office in the October civic election. He later backtracks, saying his political future remains undecided. He then sets up a Twitter account and begins publicly mulling a bid for mayor.
July 10: The Winnipeg Police Service arrest Wyatt and charge him with “serious” sexual assault. He’s released on a promise to appear in court.
July 11: The WPS announces the charge against Wyatt at a press conference.
“Moving forward, I’m not sure what we can do. We would have to make sure we’re not violating human rights… I don’t know where to go from here.”
There are no bylaws under the city charter that allow for the suspension of a member of council from their duties, either with pay or without, under any circumstances.
However, the charter stipulates that should a councillor be convicted of a serious criminal offence, the member will forfeit his or her seat automatically.
Under Gilroy’s motion, Wyatt would have been on paid leave until the charge had been dealt with in court.
The review conducted by the public service found that was standard among other cities. The policy is also similar to the ones in place for members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly and the House of Commons.
Since the Winnipeg Police Service announced the charge against him July 11, 2018, Wyatt has maintained his innocence. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday. His lawyer, Evan Roitenberg, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline Wednesday.
The sex crime charge was just one of many bombshells that marked a tumultuous final year in office for the city hall veteran, who represented the Transcona ward from 2002 to 2018.
In early January 2018, police opened an investigation after a Winnipeg woman accused Wyatt of attacking her. Weeks later, he quietly slipped away from his duties at city hall, requesting a formal leave of absence on Jan. 25.
The reason for his disappearance from public life was unknown until the Free Press revealed in March 2018 that he was in rehab at the Aurora Recovery Centre in Gimli seeking treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse.
After returning to his work duties, Wyatt came out as bisexual during the Winnipeg Pride parade in June 2018, claiming he had been leading a double life.
Later that month, he announced he would not be a candidate in the October civic election; however, he almost immediately backpedalled, saying his political future was undecided. He later publicly mulled a bid for mayor.
On July 10, 2018, he was arrested and charged with sexual assault shortly after police received lab results connected to the case. The next day police announced the charge at a press conference.
The allegation has not been proven in court.
ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Ryan Thorpe
Reporter
Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.
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