Bike Winnipeg calling for Russ Wyatt to be removed from city committee following 'offensive' comments
A local organization is calling on a Winnipeg councillor to be removed from the public works committee following comments made at a meeting on Tuesday.
In a news release Wednesday, Bike Winnipeg said its executive director Mark Cohoe submitted a presentation on the intersection of Osborne Street and River Avenue.
During the meeting, Bike Winnipeg said Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt was commenting on the report and "characterized Cohoe and other delegations as 'Bike Nazis.'"
"Use of the term 'Nazi' is not only offensive, it is also harmful to generations affected by Nazi Germany's murder of six million Jews in the 1930s and 1940s," Bike Winnipeg said in a release.
"The fact an elected official would use such language in a public meeting without immediate censure should be of concern to every Winnipeg citizen."
Bike Winnipeg is now calling for Wyatt to be removed from the public works committee for violation of the Code of Conduct for councillors.
Mayor Scott Gillingham was asked about the incident Wednesday, saying Wyatt's comments were unacceptable.
"I would encourage the councillor to retract his comments and to address Bike Winnipeg," said Gillingham.
Speaking to the media Wednesday afternoon, Wyatt said he doesn't deny using the term and said he would take the suggestion to apologize into consideration.
"When I said that, it was out of frustration. A number of us councillors have been advocating for bike paths to be built," said Wyatt. "They're coming to say, 'take lanes away from cars, people shouldn't be driving cars.'"
Wyatt said to him, the word Nazi means dictator – someone who tells others how to live their lives.
"That's really what it's coming down to. You hear from them speaking in the committee, they're saying, 'Here's how people should live their life.'"
Just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Wyatt issued an emailed statement saying he has read the Bike Winnipeg release, and regrets his choice of words.
"In terms of saying 'Bicycle Nazis,' which was not referring to any one person specifically, as is being claimed now, (as I would never call any person that name), was expressed out of a sense of frustration, as noted above, but was a very poor choice of words, which I regret, and therefore at this opportunity do wish to humbly apologize for," he said in the email.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for life of prime minister who was shot
The Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for the life of the country's prime minister, who was shot multiple times after a political event Wednesday afternoon.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a small island, officials said.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.