What would you do to make transit service in Winnipeg more functional, reliable and safe for its users? What plans do you have, if any, to reduce car dependency in the city?

Winnipeg Transit needs to be treated as essential public infrastructure.

My proposal is to direct 30% of transportation infrastructure capital spending toward public transit and transit-priority infrastructure. I would also advocate for restoring a stronger 50/50 provincial-City partnership for transit capital and operating funding.

We cannot continue to expand road infrastructure while treating transit as something that gets funded after other transportation priorities.

I would also use the first year to conduct a practical review of the current transit system: reliability, frequency, travel times, transfers, walking distances, overcrowding, accessibility and service gaps. That review should include riders and Transit workers, not simply City Hall.

Safety has to be part of that work. Transit operators and passengers need effective protection, and resources need to be deployed where they are actually needed. I have previously proposed examining a Transit Police model based on Metro Vancouver’s Transit Police, including during my 2022 campaign. I remain open to examining that model, but I would look at its cost, responsibilities, relationship with Winnipeg Police Service and measurable outcomes before creating another policing structure.

Reducing car dependency also means giving people a realistic alternative. That means reliable Transit, safe active transportation infrastructure, transit-oriented development and neighbourhoods where people can reach more of what they need without having to drive.

The goal isn’t to tell people they cannot drive. The goal is to make sure they have other options that actually work.

What do you think the city should be doing to ease the housing and homelessness crisis? What specifically would you change about the city’s current approaches?

The City cannot solve the housing and homelessness crisis alone. The Province and federal government have important responsibilities, particularly around health care, addictions treatment, income supports and supportive housing.

But that doesn’t mean Winnipeg should simply point to another government and step away.

The City has a role in land use, permitting, zoning, infrastructure, affordable housing partnerships, community development and the way public spaces are managed.

I would focus on making it easier to add housing where infrastructure already exists, including infill, transit-oriented development and the reuse of brownfield and underused sites. I also support models such as housing co-operatives and community land trusts.

I would properly fund and implement Winnipeg’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and work with other orders of government and community organizations on a more coordinated response to homelessness.

I would also bring the same Public Reinvestment Guarantee approach to housing and homelessness: what investment prevents a greater cost later?

If we know that housing instability contributes to pressure on emergency services, shelters, policing, health care and neighbourhoods, then prevention is not simply a social policy. It is also responsible public spending.

Public disorder has become a major concern among surveyed voters. How should the city best deal with it? The police budget is a major expense for the city, are people getting value for money?

Public safety requires both enforcement and prevention.

When there is violence, a threat to public safety or a crime requiring police intervention, Winnipeg Police Service needs the resources to respond effectively. But not every public disorder issue is a policing issue, and not every crisis requires the same response.

I would look at whether we are putting the right resource with the right situation: police when police are needed, community-based responses where they are more appropriate, and stronger prevention so we are not repeatedly responding to the same problems after they escalate.

That includes reviewing the City’s Community Safety Host model, community-based crisis response and other existing programs to determine what is actually working, where there is duplication and where there are gaps.

The same standard should apply to the police budget.

I don’t think the answer is simply to keep increasing the budget or simply to cut it. The question is:what public safety outcomes are residents getting for the money we are spending?

I would look at response times, calls for service, repeat calls, violent and property crime, staffing, overtime, clearance rates and other meaningful measures. If an investment is working, we should know why. If it isn’t, we should be prepared to change course.

That is the practical purpose of my Public Reinvestment Guarantee.

While poverty and addictions are largely another government’s responsibility, are there ways that you see that the City of Winnipeg could be doing more to solve these issues?

Yes.

The City should not pretend it can solve poverty or addiction on its own, but it can make municipal decisions that either make those problems harder or help address them.

That includes housing, transit, recreation, public spaces, libraries, employment opportunities, accessibility and how we respond to people experiencing crises.

I would strengthen the connection between poverty reduction, housing, public safety and prevention rather than treating them as separate files.

I also believe Winnipeg should have a stronger municipal mental health and addictions strategy, developed with the Province, federal government, Indigenous partners, frontline organizations and people with lived experience.

My five priorities are connected here. Youth employment can provide pathways into work. Senior engagement keeps people connected to community. Equitable leadership means services are accessible. Sustainable planning can reduce long-term costs. And public safety includes preventing problems before they become emergencies.

This is also where an Office of Civic Engagement could make a practical difference. Residents and community organizations often know where systems are failing before City Hall does. We need a better way to hear that information and turn it into decisions.

Voters are concerned about the rising cost of living and affordability. What do you see are ways the City of Winnipeg could make life less expensive for residents?

The City cannot control every factor that affects the cost of living, but it can control more than people sometimes realize.

Transit is one example. If someone can reliably get to work, school, appointments and home without needing to own a vehicle, that can make a significant difference to their household budget. That’s one reason I support directing 30% of transportation infrastructure capital spending toward Transit and improving service.

Housing is another. We need more housing options, particularly where infrastructure and transit already exist, while supporting affordable housing, co-ops and community land trusts.

On property taxes, I believe there needs to be discipline. My position is an 8% maximum property tax increase, with a target range of 3.5% to 6%, alongside a municipal price index so future increases are connected to the actual cost pressures facing the City rather than becoming arbitrary annual decisions.

At the same time, I do not think affordability means pretending that City services are free.

Residents deserve to know what they are paying for, what they are receiving in return, and where their money is going.

That is why I have endorsed both the CCPA-MB Alternative Municipal Budget and the Winnipeg Chamber’s The City We Build, while being transparent about where I differ from the CCPA-MB proposal on the business tax.

For me, responsible budgeting is not simply about spending less. It is about asking whether we are spending public money where it creates the greatest public value.

Ultimately, my approach is about changing both how City Hall works and what it chooses to prioritize.

Thank you again for the opportunity to participate in Winnipeg Better. I appreciate the work you and your fellow journalism students are doing to inform voters ahead of October 28.

Respectfully,

Christopher Clacio