Eadie Expects Progress On Bus & City Hall Safety Measures
Episode 15 picks up on our last interview with Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie, with a long-form discussion about danger using the transit system and around City Hall.
The previous discussion encompassed City budget and housing plans, the massive transit route re-organization, and his own concerns about flawed public consultations. Listen to it here:
Coun. Eadie on Transit and Trudeau’s Housing Deal
2:28 Ross Eadie: “All the problems I got going on on Selkirk Avenue and on Main Street, these are all the things happening on the bus.”
As a longtime transit user, Ross Eadie has firsthand experience with the increasing disorder on Winnipeg bus routes. Hear him describe a ‘just got out of jail’ party.
“I need to see some progress” not just with on-bus safety but with incidents at bus stops, he told TGCTS.
Regarding the police union grievance against a new provincially-supported transit security force, he said the WPA is fighting an uphill battle. “Let’s move ahead with something.”
13:10 Part 2 – Ross Eadie has a frank discussion with Marty Gold about security at City Hall; we learn there’s no security orientation for new councilors.
“There should be,” said Eadie, who discusses panic buttons, location of the security desk, a proposal for metal detectors, and his own close call when working at the Legislature.
Fellow councilors Sherri Rollins and Janice Lukes are worried about their safety at City Hall. Eadie says that the perception is “They’re more vulnerable. The people who will hurt you go after the weak.”
“The attitude towards politicians is not good out there. It’s further made worse by social media.”
20.40 “There’s lots of unstable people out there who don’t like politicians… I usually know how to deal with people who are animated. It’s the quiet ones, those are the ones who are going to move to hurt you.”
Marty Gold raises public complaints of being expected to pay for improved protection for Councilors when there’s no such protections planned for the average citizen.
25.00 – The push for added safety is linked by Rollins to the shooting at Edmonton City Hall. But as Eadie learns in the interview, neither she or the local media has explained it was a terror attack by a Jihadist, not an aggrieved constituent.
Marty suggests councilors need a plain-language assessment of which radical movements pose threats to their safety. Eadie explains why the design of the 510 Main Street campus makes for a worse potential outcome than the molotov tossed and 6 shots inside the Edmonton civic building.
33:10 Part 3- There’s going to be more interviews with City Council members and more investigations into policies and practices that matter to you, our listeners. Plus coverage of crime and policing, road safety, bike lanes and so much more.
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