The signage is referencing a controversial decision by the City of Winnipeg last month to end its contract after 16 years with local restaurant Salisbury House to serve food and drinks at two city-owned golf courses. The city will instead go with the services of a U.S.-based company.<\/p>\n
The owner of 500 Waterfront Dr., Michael Mark, told the Free Press on Monday he \u201capproved\u201d the billboard\u2019s set-up outside of his South Point Douglas neighbourhood building as a way to get people \u201cthinking about the upcoming mayoral election\u201d scheduled for Oct. 28.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n A sign, which slams Mayor Scott Gillingham for not supporting Sals in its contract with two city golf courses, has been erected outside of 480 Waterfront Dr.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mark said he has long had concerns about the mayor\u2019s handling of a number of issues, including the encampments on the riverbank adjacent to the Waterfront Drive property, but Salisbury House losing out to Aramark Canada, the Canadian arm of a multibillion-dollar U.S. company, was the last straw.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just because of the Salisbury House snub, but because of all the damage Scott Gillingham has done \u2026 People are struggling, and I feel bad for the struggling families here, I really do,\u201d said Mark, a 63-year-old electrical and mechanical engineer.<\/p>\n The golf course contract change sparked calls to prioritize local businesses in procurement processes. A motion to be discussed by city council this month will, if approved, result in a report on options to update the tendering process that could award points for businesses based locally.<\/p>\n Colin Fast, a spokesperson for Gillingham, said the facts of the matter are getting lost in the fray: the city, as it stands now, is legally not able to give preferential treatment to local businesses while procuring contracts.<\/p>\n \u201cMisinformation is an ongoing challenge. On this issue, the facts are straightforward \u2026 Provincial and federal trade rules prevent the city from awarding contracts simply because a business is local,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the law, not a political choice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProvincial and federal trade rules prevent the city from awarding contracts simply because a business is local.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s public service handles contract procurement; council does not vote on or approve the bidding process for contracts.<\/p>\n Gillingham has said he will support the aforementioned motion.<\/p>\n Sal\u2019s manager Dave Petrishen said he hadn\u2019t seen the billboard before being contacted by the Free Press, but said its message \u201cmirrors what we\u2019re hearing from the people that come into our restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are really, really upset, and a lot of people reached out and (asked) what they can do to help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While conversations are in early stages, Petrishen said Sal\u2019s has heard from local companies looking to partner with the restaurant chain. He hopes conversations at City Hall result in action that could give locals a competitive edge when up against big corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to give an edge to somebody who\u2019s your neighbour, somebody who could be building a house beside you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to give an edge to somebody who\u2019s your neighbour, somebody who could be building a house beside you.\u201d<\/p>\n University of Winnipeg political science Prof. Malcolm Bird said he sympathized with Gillingham\u2019s situation and noted the procurement process was once \u201cone of the most fraught areas of public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou would use procurement to reward your friends and buddies and allies with nice, juicy contracts, and that has kind of gone away, thank God,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, we have very formalized and rigid and professionalized procurement processes.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, of course, what that means is that there\u2019s a lot of things like discretion that are taken away from politicians, including things like discretion about favouring local producers and companies over international ones or big ones.\u201d<\/p>\n One person not impressed by the Waterfront Drive protest signage is the author of the April 23 letter to the editor it highlights.<\/p>\n Winnipeg resident Tom Pearson said he\u2019d like to see the billboard come down.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that Mayor Gillingham is feeling some heat over this, and he deserves to, but I don\u2019t agree with people that pull this kind of nonsense,\u201d he said Monday.<\/p>\n malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Malak Abas Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg\u2019s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4195697_web1_260504-Sals-sign-00027.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/newslettericons-danlett.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Malak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/malak-abas-mug.jpg\")
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