Rookie councilllor takes tour of Winnipeg, one ward at a time

One rookie councillor, waiting to be sworn in next week, is reaching out to her new colleagues in an effort to avoid some of the acrimony and dissension Winnipeg's city hall come to be known for.

Janice Lukes wants to understand issues in other wards, improve communication

CBC News Posted: Oct 31, 2014 6:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: November 1, 2014

10 years ago

2:11

One rookie councillor, waiting to be sworn in next week, is reaching out to her new colleagues in an effort to avoid some of the acrimony and dissension Winnipeg's city hall come to be known for.

One rookie councillor, waiting to be sworn in next week, is reaching out to her new colleagues in an effort to avoid some of the acrimony and dissension Winnipeg's city hall has come to be known for.

Janice Lukes, who was elected in St. Norbert in last week's municipal election, took a tour of the forest on the Parker Lands in John Orlikow's ward, River Heights, recently.

Janice Lukes said she's optimistic the soon-to-be sworn in city council and Winnipeg's new mayor, Brian Bowman, will work better than the "toxic environment" that preceded them. (CBC)

Lukes has been setting up ward tours with her fellow councillors-elect across the city.

She said it's her way of getting a better grasp of issues outside her own ward.

"I want to get to know our councillors better, the people I am going to working with the next four years," she said. "It's all fresh in their minds, what they have heard from the people. And hopefully by meeting them they are going to share that with me and I am going to have a better understanding of the city from their perspective."

It's a move the River Heights representative is thrilled with.

River Heights' John Orlikow and St. Norbert's Janice Lukes walk through the woods on the Parker Lands in Orlikow's ward. The tour was Lukes' idea, as a way of getting to know the issues her fellow councillors face. (CBC)

"No one has asked for a ward visit before," Orlikow told Lukes.

"Really?" she said. "No, he replied. "It's awesome!"

Lukes is offering Orlikow and other councillors tours of her own ward in return.

With a new mayor and seven new councillors moving in next week, Lukessaid Winnipeggers are ready for a new way of doing business at city hall.

"I did not want to come into a toxic environment and I knew that when four people were going and a mayor, that there'd be a lot of change and I was really optimistic it could only get better," she said, referring to the four wards where the incumbent was not in the running (St. Norbert, St. Boniface, St. James and Charleswood-Tuxedo), and Sam Katz's decision not to run for the mayor's seat again.

And she's even more optimistic now, after a tour of the Parker Lands.

"I hope we have sharing and I hope we aren't just blah,blah,blah!"

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