Mayor Scott Gillingham is looking to amend the City of Winnipeg Charter to give council better tools when elected officials face serious criminal charges or convictions.

This comes after Winnipeg city councillor Russ Wyatt was charged with another count of sexual assault after police investigated an alleged incident dating back to 2023.

Proposed Charter changes

“Winnipeggers have a right to expect a high standard from the people they elect to public office,” said Gillingham. “We also have to respect the presumption of innocence and the democratic choice of voters. Right now, provincial legislation gives Council very little ability to balance those two principles when serious circumstances arise.”

Currently, if a councillor is convicted of certain criminal offences, they automatically forfeit their seat. However, before a criminal charge has been resolved, council has very few tools to respond when serious circumstances arise.

“Being charged with an offence is not the same as being convicted, and politicians should never have an unrestricted power to remove another democratically elected representative,” said Gillingham. “But right now, the law gives us almost no middle ground. We need reasonable options that protect public confidence while also protecting due process and the democratic rights of voters.”

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Moving forward, Gillingham is asking council to formally request that the province undertake a cross-jurisdictional review of how other Canadian municipalities and provinces address these circumstances, to amend the charter in three areas.

This includes modernizing the rules governing criminal convictions, including a review of which serious criminal convictions should automatically disqualify someone from continuing to hold municipal office.

Temporary measures proposed

Council would also like to see temporary measures for exceptional circumstances while serious criminal charges are before the courts. This could include temporary removal from all committees and boards, mandatory remote participation in Council and committee meetings, or, in the most serious circumstances, administrative leave.

Candidate eligibility

Lastly, council would like to review eligibility rules for municipal candidates, including whether there should be additional restrictions or safeguards for individuals facing specified serious criminal charges at the time of an election.

Gillingham said any changes should be carefully defined and include strong safeguards to protect due process and democratic rights.

“This isn’t about having politicians decide whether another politician is guilty or innocent. That’s the job of the courts,” said Gillingham. “It’s about making sure Council has reasonable tools to deal with extraordinary circumstances while that process takes place.”

Gillingham plans to introduce a notice of motion at September’s Council meeting, allowing the newly elected Council to consider the proposal when it takes office in November.