8 a.m.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2020 (1598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A laptop, tablet and cellphone sit in front of him while wall-mounted screens display reminders of the pandemic that consumes most of his workday.

As Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman begins a series of video calls that focus on the city’s response to COVID-19, one flat-screen TV displays a news clip of a mask-wearing senior reaching out to a loved one on the opposite side of a glass window. Another displays a map with global counts of pandemic cases and deaths.

Bowman says determining how Winnipeg should respond to the realities of the pandemic is one of the most difficult tasks he’s faced as mayor.

“I think the biggest challenge is just dealing with everyone’s fears and anxieties because… we’re all human. It’s very unusual times,” he says.

Mayors play a “unique role” in following health recommendations, sometimes with little notice of changes imposed by senior governments, he says.

This week, that’s meant responding to Manitoba’s reopening plan, which allowed city museums, libraries and playgrounds, among other facilities, to welcome back visitors, if they chose to.

“It’s a challenge but we’re doing the best we can… I’m just trying to roll with it and deal with the information when we get it. But earlier is always better,” says Bowman, noting the province is also responding in real time to COVID-19 developments.

“I think the biggest challenge is just dealing with everyone’s fears and anxieties because… we’re all human.”

While libraries remain closed for now, Bowman says the city is working on a plan to safely reopen them.

Weeks after Manitoba announced its first presumed positive case of COVID-19 on March 12, the mayor says the pandemic still claims most of his workday.

During this morning hour, that involves a series of video calls with key staff, emergency operations officials, Economic Development Winnipeg and others.

The crisis has devastated city finances, sparking municipal job losses he’d rather have avoided.

“I think 927 temporary layoffs, roughly nine per cent of our workforce, (are) not easy decisions to make, but (it’s) driven by reduced demand for service not… just (looking) for things to cut,” he says.

Bowman says he hopes to help Winnipeggers stay positive as the pandemic lingers on.

His office recently posted a video featuring local celebrities, such as Jennifer Jones and Blake Wheeler, delivering the message: “We will weather this storm.”

“I wanted to remind people that our community is resilient,” he says.

— Joyanne Pursaga