Brandon pauses public engagement on 30-year vision over 'inappropriate and unsafe behaviour'
Brandon pauses public engagement on 30-year vision over 'inappropriate and unsafe behaviour'
The City of Brandon has paused public engagement on its 30-year plan for the city due to what it calls 'inappropriate and unsafe behaviour' from some residents.
The issues came after two public engagement events the city held to discuss the Brandon City Plan which outlines a 30-year vision for the city.
"A small group of citizens used these events to discuss theories not related to the Brandon City Plan project and city staff were treated disrespectfully," a statement from the city reads.
"Democracy and freedom of speech is important to the City of Brandon. However, due to such inappropriate and unsafe behaviour, all Brandon City Plan public engagement has been paused."
Ron Bowles, Brandon's city manager, told CTV News the group of residents that came to the meeting was 'loud and boisterous' and made the staff members feel emotionally unsafe.
"It was an unfair situation for our staff, there was only two staff members in attendance at the meeting and the group was a little bit aggressive," he said.
Resident Rick Macl said he went to the meeting on Friday to bring forward his concerns about the city plan.
"I really don't understand where they're getting that from, like, I honestly don't," he said. "Obviously, it was disorganized, and when you have a whole bunch of people talking at the same time, it gets frustrating."
He posted a video of the meeting on his Facebook page, which shows at times a group of residents all asking questions over each other—many surrounding the idea of '15-minute cities'.
The city planning term suggests everything a resident needs should be within a 15-minute walk or cycle from their home, but the idea has been caught up in conspiracies theories.
Grant Hamilton, founder of a cycling advocacy group Bike Brandon, said they also had to postpone their public engagement sessions about the city plan, which looks to support more cycling and safer access to bike lanes.
He said it is an issue that has been caught up in conspiracy theories in Brandon.
"The people who are passionate about these conspiracy theories tend to also be disruptive, and they had started coming to some of the larger city open houses to talk about the city plan and were disrupting those," he said.
"In discussions, we didn't feel like we could provide a safe inclusive event for people at Bike Brandon. So we unfortunately had to make the call that we were going to cancel our event."
Macl said he feels the city is blowing the situation out of proportion. He said he, along with some other residents at the meeting, felt the city staff were unprepared to answer questions about the plan.
Hamilton, however, said he believes the majority of people in Brandon support the plan.
"I think you'll always have to be prepared for maybe a little bit of controversy, or maybe some people who don't 100 per cent agree with you," he said. "As long as you're respectful about that, there's no problem."
Bowles said the city paused its public engagement to evaluate how best to have conversations with the community.
"We wanted to make sure that going forward, that we have good conversations for our community and have conversations in a safe space for our staff as well," he said, adding there were legitimate questions brought up in the meeting.
Macl said he feels there may be some good that comes out of this.
"I think this is going to open up the conversation, I think this is going to get the city, you know, prepared to basically talk further and in detail of what this is actually is and what it's involving," he said.
The city said it will provide updates on the next steps in the city plan in the future.
With the latest hike bringing Canada's key interest rates to levels not seen since 2001, one mortgage broker is warning that it may be 'the last straw' for some homeowners with variable mortgages.
It's been a busy, tumultuous few days for Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex as he took his place on the witness stand in his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers. Here are royal commentator Afua Hagan's top takeaways from his two-day grilling.
Poor air quality is forecast to persist into the weekend across parts of Ontario, as plumes of wildfire smoke blanket the province and prompt school boards to limit outdoor activities.
The Bank of Canada's latest decision to raise its key interest rate comes at a time when many are struggling to afford their homes. CTVNews.ca wants to hear from people in Canada who are going to great lengths to find affordable housing.
One of the architects of the law that governs Canada's prison system says it's understandable people want revenge on killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo, but that's not what the prison system is designed for.
With social media ever-present in modern life, figuring out when and how to introduce it to children is something every parent will have to deal with eventually. CTV's Your Morning spoke to a child-life specialist about how parents can have that conversation and be positive role models too.
Family and friends gathered at the spot Haven Dubois's mother pulled his body from the water eight years ago, ready to embark on a cross Canada journey in his honour.
A northern Ontario forest fire that started west of Sudbury on Sunday morning has grown to more than 1,000 hectares and has prompted officials to issue an evacuation order for the immediate area as the number of active fires in the region grows.
Poor air quality is forecast to persist into the weekend across parts of Ontario, as plumes of wildfire smoke blanket the province and prompt school boards to limit outdoor activities.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
The air quality in Toronto has become so polluted due to forest fires in Quebec and Ontario that strenuous outdoor activities could leave you coughing and with an itchy throat.
A regulatory body has revoked the licence of a Mississauga homebuilder after it says that the company demanded that a buyer pay an additional $518,000 for a property that they already had a contract to purchase.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
Further evacuations are necessary in Abitibi and Nord-du-Québec due to forest fires. Although the situation has improved on the North Shore due to rain, no precipitation is expected further west until Monday.
In an interview on CJAD 800 Radio, Quebec Conservative Party leader Eric Duhaime said the new measures in place related to Quebec's ammendments to the French Language Charter have made Quebec a 'laughingstock' and that phone and website messages are 'offensive.'
On Wednesday, the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) filed a writ of intervention with the housing tribunal (TAL) to plead in favour of two tenants opposing the clause in their lease prohibiting them from owning animals in their dwelling.
The chief of the Shelburne Volunteer Fire Department says the blaze near Barrington Lake, which is now classified as “held,” is unlike anything he’s ever seen.
Halifax media outlets were given a tour of the neighbourhoods hardest hit by the Tantallon wildfire Tuesday afternoon and saw firsthand the damage and destruction left behind.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
High levels of air pollution have developed in Waterloo region and Wellington County as smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Quebec and northeastern Ontario continue to blow into the region, Environment Canada says.
A reward of $100,000 is up for grabs as police in Metro Vancouver renew calls for help finding 36-year-old Cody Timothy Casey—a man wanted Canada-wide for a total of 17 drugs and firearms offences.
The pounding sounds of running on hardwood, the smash of the ball hitting the boards and the cheer of the crowd—it’s officially lacrosse season at Queens Park Arena in New Westminster.
A large wildfire burning on Vancouver Island Wednesday continues to impact traffic on Highway 4, the only highway leading to the west coast communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.
