Winnipeg council reprimands Coun. Russ Wyatt for comments about former CAO

Posted on January 30, 2025 by Peggy

Coun. Russ Wyatt’s refusal to apologize for comments made about a former member of Winnipeg’s civil service has resulted in a public reprimand.

Winnipeg city council voted 12-2 in favour of censuring the Transcona councillor during Thursday’s council meeting at city hall.

Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood and East Kildonan), Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge – East Fort Garry) voted against the motion, while Wyatt and Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights – Fort Garry) were absent from the vote.

“I believe that I have done nothing wrong. I simply was doing what is my responsibility to the citizens that I represent … to hold accountable our most senior administration,” Wyatt said before debate on the agenda item began.

The call for Wyatt to apologize arose after an investigative report into his call for the city’s former chief administrative officer, Michael Jack, to be fired in August 2023. The comments were made after a multi-million dollar court judgment went against the city.

“We need a change. We need a new CAO and we need to start removing some of some of the deadwood that exists in senior management,” Wyatt said at the time.

The report found that Wyatt breached the City of Winnipeg’s code of conduct on several points with his comments about Jack and his staff that were “objectively offensive.”

Mayor Scott Gillingham said members of the council can fulfil their calling as elected officials as long as they do so within the parameters of the code of conduct.

“We can do our jobs with diligence and effectively holding the public service to account,” he said. “We can do so in a manner that is consistent with the rules of the code of conduct that we’ve established and we agreed to.”