As the days get shorter, there is not much day light left to go door knocking in the evenings. I appreciate folks are at their dinner table when we come around.
For folks in the ward living in apartments and condos access to building is a challenge. It’s good to see security is valued to prevent unwanted people from entering your building. If you would like a copy of my political flyer or want me to speak at your building, please let us know. Our team would be happy to drop of flyers for your building. Or I can meet with your building. Email my agent at VoteMichaelTAgent@shaw.ca for your requests. We love hearing from you!
Today was an important day. I am grateful for the efforts made by my company, city, province and country to recognize the past wrongs. It is hard to hear the stories but that is nothing compared to the pain and trauma for the survivors and their families. I hope you were able to take some time today to reflect how our future might look as we work together.
In that spirit I did my campaigning today in West Broadway the most northern part of the ward. This area is special to me and I appreciate the efforts everyone takes to do good work. One of these groups is Westminster Housing Society inc. | OUR PROJECTS and you can see the positive impact they have in our city. It was good to talk with my neighbours and find out how things were going.
In talking with people, I listened to a homeless Indigenous woman asking for her own four walls. She didn’t want a shelter (there are not enough women’s shelters). We talked about Lion’s Place where her uncle used to live. Lions Place residents speak out about potential privatization of home – Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca It’s not clear what the challenge is for Lion’s Place but it makes sense as part of our national goal of ending homeless and poverty that enabling Lion’s Place to continue would be a win win for everyone.
As your city councillor I would be advocating and working to make sure all housing in the ward is prepared for current and future challenges. Please vote for me in this civic election to bring hope to the ward. Miigwech
Some items may not seem important at the community level but make a huge impact in the lives of fellow community members. Every branch in the city should have a wage parity assessment and set a goal to achieve wage parity in under 7 years.
In Canada, we value fairness and this is an important area for women to feel valued and respected in the work place. If elected, I will fight to improve the lives of women in the City of Winnipeg work place. Let’s be a national leader in this regard.
Thank you for your consideration as your next city councillor for Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry Ward.
For a lot of people during the pandemic the popular choice was to turn to animals. Adoption and purchasing pets saw a major increase. Even before that, many people in Winnipeg owned pets as it’s part of the Canadian dream. When I go door knocking it sounds like every other house someone owns a pet. Pet ownership is a responsibility and as a City we need to address those needs.
In council I would
Work to designate more areas for pet owners.
Move to have a vote again on the breed ban. As well, I’d like to have the individual votes for the specific options asked for by citizens. One of the tricks of politics is to package all bills or options in a super bill. It forces people to vote for all or nothing. Call out this type of bill and truth to power is important. It prevented grown and development in areas everyone wants change.
Work to develop programs in the Recreation and Leisure to help train and coach owners and pets.
Continue to work with the groups working for pets (rescue shelters, Winnipeg Humane Society) for their leadership and input on this issue
Winnipeggers want options and guidelines that work with todays needs and growing pets. The pet industry continues to grow and Winnipeg can become a leader in this.
Consider your choices and realize there is only one person to vote for city councillor for Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry – Michael Thompson
The city of Winnipeg public works budget is an estimated $250 million per year. This ward is one of the most important in the city. The downtown has invested a billion dollars over the past years.
There is a need to improve traffic congestion and construction in our ward. One of the biggest complaints I hear is the lack of coordination between construction and closing of roads. With my support we would see improved construction times. We are a city that will continue to grow and the goal is to have more people travelling downtown.
To do that we need:
Road construction taking place on major streets on nights and weekends. Our construction season is short enough, we need to work to shorten the time roads are closed
Coordinate contracts to when jobs are tendered and when they are started. Space out the work more effectively
Coordinate with other industries when working under the roads as well as on top of the roads
Invest in engineering methods for longer lasting roads and street lines
If you’re tired of the way road construction is done in the ward then vote for me so I can improve things. Vote for Michael Thompson in the early voting. Merci.
No. 4 Station – 150 Osborne St. serves a very important part of the city of Winnipeg. The fire house is one of the busier ones in the city. If you ever get a chance to take a tour of the station you will see that it’s out lived it’s building space long ago. Our first responders need a safe, updated and functional space for the coming decades. Our population and needs continue to grow in this area. Other wards continue to have services and buildings upgraded while one of the largest tax bases in the city is neglected. Vote for me to get things done in the ward. Lives in the ward, works for the ward.
Having a place to take your family, your pets, and yourself is important.
Our ward has some amazing locations – The Forks, the rivers, Memorial Park, Millennium Library Park, dozens of schools, community centres, lots of parks and playgrounds. If you ever get a chance, take your kids to the playgrounds in Wildwood parks. My focus is making sure we utilize the green space for what people need and want for todays activities. Our ward has many new people to Canada so they bring diversity and different interests. My plan would be to review what we have and develop more dog parks, soccer fields and basketball courts. I would also like to add places to play Pickleball, ultimate frisbee and bike polo. Having greenspace in our ward that helps these activities makes us a leader in the city. My dedication to green space is solid. Integrating green space in our city helps people with mental health making our community and city more livable. I will always advocate for green space so vote for me and allow me to work for you. My focus is our ward and you!
Here is a recent email from one of the more active lobby group in the city.
We commend Winnipeg’s City Council for approving key planning documents in May 2022 with the following amendments.
creation of a Master Greenspace and Natural Corridor Plan By-law,
a Biodiversity Policy
acquisition of an additional 1,000 acres of public park land
These forward thinking plans and policies will preserve green space and set guidelines that protect and plan for greenspace for the future.
Progress is being made by the City with budget allocation. Work has started on the Master Greenspace and Natural Corridor Plan and Biodiversity Policy.
We ask for you to continue to support these amendments and ensure they are implemented in a timely manner.
To give citizens an opportunity to learn what all the candidates are saying would you please respond to the following three questions?
Please provide a few lines for our website that could indicate your aspirations, vision, commitment, timeframe, and achievements – what you want to tell the public about these three items.
1. Describe your commitment to ensure the Master Greenspace and Natural Corridors (includes river corridors) Plan By-law and Biodiversity Policy will be completed and implemented in a timely manner?
2. Describe your commitment and time frame to acquire 1000 additional acres of public parkland in the City of Winnipeg while greenspace is still available.
3. Describe your commitment to implement a Biodiversity Policy?
Moving safely in the city is key to a successful city. Public transit and handi-transit are valuable and important to everyone. This is one of the larger issues that many people have asked me about. I understand how important this is because I use transit from time to time to get to work.
Improved routes for the ward
Safety on the buses and bus shacks
Cost of travelling
Protecting consumers from poor handi-transit actors
On average, the city and province cover a deficit of an estimated $70 million each year. How our city chooses to spend these funds is important. It is clear that we can do a much better job in using our resources, providing transit drivers with more support and improving routes.
Currently the city allows children age 11 and under to ride for free as of January 1, 2022.
Improved consumer protections for Handi-Transit riders
One month in 2023 where all riders can ride for $1 loonie.
With your support and vote, your public transit systems can be improved. Please let your neighbours know that I live in the ward and I will work for the ward.
Thursday October 11, 2018 the Candidates for City Councillor had a forum and we recorded it on video. Here is a link to that video.
Our apologies for the video being saved vertically. When it was recorded live via a cell phone it appeared properly. We have looked at the settings and there are no options to rotate the video. From you phone or tablet you can rotate that device to watch.
Thank you to Riverview Community Centre for hosting the event and Steven Place for organizing the event. Thank you to Dean Jones from my team for doing the work behind the camera. Thank you to the person who suggested, I loved the idea and made it happen. Thank you to everyone who brought something to donate to Winnipeg Harvest.
PRESS RELEASE #wpgpoli
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 11, 2018 10:30 AM
Michael Thompson, candidate for City Councillor for Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry platform on infrastructure for the ward.
I have been going door-to-door for several months since announcing my candidacy for City Council. I want to make a positive difference for the citizens in the Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry and I have consistently heard concerns about the quality of infrastructure.
I will work hard to implement the following changes:
Improve the quality of the sidewalks, roads and back lanes. Large parts of the ward are used by citizens on foot. It’s important that our sidewalks are usable and safe all year round
Expand and link our bike lanes to promote active transportation. There needs to be improvement in our addressing the major arteries with safe bike path options
Upgrade the East Fort Garry Outdoor Pool
Upgrade and invest in our community centres. Our community centres are the heart of community. We need to look at options for using solar energy as well as having recycling drop offs and composting centres.
Replace Osborne Fire Station #4. The station was built in the late 1950s and has reached its end of life. There are major layout and structure issues that don’t meet today’s needs. A new building needs to be built to meet today’s equipment standards and the needs of our changing community. It is one of the busiest stations in the city and will continue to grow in calls. Fire Station #4 is having an open house this Saturday October 13 from noon to 4 pm. I encourage the public and media to visit the fire hall to judge the condition for themselves.
Work to reduce traffic congestion along Osborne Street and Confusion Corner
Add Pedestrian Flashing Lights at River Avenue and Lewis Street
Re purpose land at community centre under utilized as dog park areas. One example is re purposing the tennis courts at Fort Rouge Leisure Centre
I have been listening to the community and people expect more from our city and I agree. There is a lot of work to do and I promise to work hard to address these concerns make sure our communities adapt and are the communities we hope to live in years to come. If elected I will use city resources to support and build our communities for urban revitalization.
For further information please contact candidate
Michael Thompson at 204-272-9555
or Shelley Ireland, Media Relations at 204-272-9555 ext. 3
