'I've had confrontations as a 6-foot-8 man': Premier addresses downtown safety

Premier Brian Pallistersays downtown safety in Winnipeg must be addressed considering even a man of his height gets into confrontations when he tries to shopon Portage Avenue.

"I'm six-foot-eightand Ilike to go to Mountain Equipment Co-op," Manitoba's premier told reporters during a media availability on Thursday.

"I can tell you I've had confrontational situations, as a six-foot-eight man, in that areaand that's an indication of how other people might be treated, an indication of what we have to address.

"Some of these situations have to beaddressed head on and we'll have more to say on this in the next few weeks."

Pallistersayspublic safety is the No. 1 issue facing downtown Winnipeg after he was asked about the pending sale of Portage Place mall to Toronto's Starlight Investments, which intends to add residential towers above the mall.

• Toronto investment firm offers $69.9M for Portage Place mall

The sale requires city and provincial approval. Pallistersays the province is still considering the proposal, but adds he welcomeschange at the mall.

"I've had reports from so manyManitobansabout uncomfortable situations at Portage Place: inside, outside, at the bus stop. After a while, you start to recognize it's got problems associated with it," the premier said.

"It's hard not to welcome the opportunity to see some conversion for some other use."

The bus stop at Portage Place was shuttered at the end of Mayfollowing concerns about safety raised by the Winnipeg Police Service.

The Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone is also looking forward to new development at Portage Place, which the organization views as a community amenity, not a trouble spot.

"We know that in Winnipeg we do have some challenges and not everyone feels safe here. But we know that a lot of people do feel safe andare comfortable being down here," CEO Kate Fenske said.

In a statement, Mountain Equipment Co-Op said it's proud to operate downtown.

Some pedestrians on Portage Avenue questioned why the premier would feel unsafe.

"At six-foot-eight,I don't see any reason you should feel unsafe on Portage. If we're talking about other ends of the city, I might feel iffy about it, but on Portage it's as safe as can be," said Nasir Imodagbe, who says he goes downtown twice a week.

Cher Kutcher, who said she never felt unsafe opening up a store at 7 a.m. downtown,surmisedPallister may be singled out for confrontation.

"Maybe because he's the premier and he may be recognized and maybe because of his height," she said."I'm average looking and Idon't look intimidating, so maybe that's to my benefit and I'm also female and they say males get attacked more than females."

Premier 'sympathetic' to concerns about police workload

During the same meeting with reporters, Pallisteraddressed Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth's concerns officers are overwhelmed with their workload and that governments aren't doing enough to address the methamphetamine crisis.

The premier said he shares Smyth's "general concerns about public safety," but would not commit to funding for more police officers. That would constitute micromanaging the police, he said.

Pallister says he understands police calls spike during the summer, adding he believes Justice Minister Cliff Cullen is meeting with Smyth.

On the addictions side, the premier says the province could do more in terms of education.

"We can't fail to respond more quickly to the circumstances that we must face," he said."We can't ignore the educationalcomponent. That's a longer term concern. We have to help people understand, 'don't get on this in the first place.'"