City council OK's renaming park after family of Transcona police officer despite concerns about process
A park in Transcona will be renamed in honour of the family of a former Winnipeg police officer, but the proposal to do that generated concerns from some city councillors about the process for commemorative renamings.
Council voted in favour Thursday of changing the name of Kildonan Meadows Park to Lucki Family Park.
Joseph "Joe" Lucki started working as a police officer for what was then the City of Transcona in 1959. He retired from the Winnipeg Police Service in 1989.
That same year, his daughter Patricia died when she was hit by a drunk driver.
"I'm a little jittery," Joe Lucki told reporters at city hall before Thursday's council vote. "It's quite an honour to be more or less selected to have a renaming of a park."
Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt brought forward the motion, which he said had widespread community support. His motion included attached letters of support from the late Nello Altomare, who was the MLA for Transcona, as well as Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers and former police chief Danny Smyth.
Lucki choked up when speaking about the death of his daughter, who worked as an early childhood educator and is honoured with a memorial award from Red River College Polytechnic.
She went overseas to do humanitarian work, and was killed just a month after returning home, her father said.
"She was killed by a drunk driver close to our home, just a block away, with another friend of hers, Kerri Campbell," he said.
Report on policy coming
But several members of council said they were uncomfortable with nominations for renaming coming directly from council, as the city is in the process of overhauling the mandate of the Welcoming Winnipeg committee — the body responsible for advising the city on the naming of public spaces.
Earlier this year, a report commissioned by the mayor's office found members of the committee, which was created to increase the use of Indigenous place names, were frustrated and confused about whether the work of the committee aligned with its core purpose.
A report recommending changes to the city's policy is expected later this year.
Mayor Scott Gillingham, along with council speaker Coun. Devi Sharma, voted against suspending the rules to allow a vote on Wyatt's motion, but later voted with the majority of councillors supporting the name change.
"Here's a gentleman who's served the City of Winnipeg and the people of Transcona diligently as a police officer for decades," Gillingham said in a news conference.
"And so when we're honouring public servants, people who've done good work in our community, I think we should be supportive of that."
Process 'unfortunate'
St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard said it was "unfortunate" that councillors had to discuss the merits of the nomination and concerns about the process while Lucki was seated in the public gallery, suggesting "a modicum of vetting would be good."
St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes said the vote to approve the name change would lead to a "land rush" of other nominations from councillors who had been waiting for the city to complete its review of the Welcoming Winnipeg policy. Mayes, along with councillors Sherri Rollins and Cindy Gilroy, voted against the renaming.
Wyatt said he was motivated to push the nomination forward due to Lucki's age. He turns 91 in October.
"I was told [to] wait until the [Welcoming Winnipeg] policy comes out and then bring it forward, and I was told that that will be July — and we know that sometimes that can become September, October, "said Wyatt.
"I didn't want to miss another season for the very nature of this dedication, because of Mr. Lucki and his youth, let's put it that way."
Gillingham said the Welcoming Winnipeg report was initially expected in July, but could not say for certain it would be ready by then.
Downtown councillors worry about loss of parking meters
Two downtown city councillors also expressed concern Thursday that a city plan to remove all parking meters this summer, and instead rely mainly on the PayByPhone mobile app for payment, could leave some people who lack smartphones without a way to pay for street parking.
The city announced on Wednesday all parking meters would be removed by Aug. 31. Gillingham said the idea has been discussed since 2018, and the change is needed because Canada is phasing out the 3G network, which the meters rely on.
But Rollins said while 80 per cent of people pay through the app, a significant number still use other methods.
"So I really think before we put an obstacle for one in five folks that are visiting the Exchange District or the downtown that we should have had a conversation," the Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry councillor told reporters at city hall on Thursday.
People who want to pay with cash will have to purchase prepaid booklets from one of three locations: the 311 counter at city hall, the Parking Store at 495 Portage Ave., or the Access Centre at 170 Goulet St. They'll be available as of July 2, which is when the city will start removing meters.
Daniel McIntryre Coun. Gilroy said the city needs to make those booklets more widely available.
"There is no plan in trying to get those into stores to distribute so people would have easy access to them," she said.
The councillors also worry the shift to relying on the app for payment could open the door to dynamic pricing, charging customers more to park during busy times, while potentially offering free parking at times of low demand.
Finance committee chair Coun. Jeff Browaty said there are no immediate plans to move in that direction, but it could help free up more on-street parking.
"[At] some future point years down the road, as we move even more heavily into an app-type setup, I think that would be an opportunity to potentially look at changing hours, changing rates," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
CTV QP: ‘We need to fight for every job in the steel sector': Minister Joly
Watch Industry Minister Melanie Joly on the comments about the recently announced countermeasures falling short against U.S. steel tariffs.
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Security and defence high on the agenda as Mark Carney attends EU and NATO summits
Prime Minister Mark Carney departed for Europe on Sunday for back-to-back summits where he is expected to make major commitments for Canada on security and defence. Carney will be joined by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Defence Minister David McGuinty and secretary of state for defence procurement Stephen Fuhr at the EU and NATO summits, where military procurement and diversifying supply chains will top the agendas. The international meetings come as Canada looks to reduce its defence procurement reliance on the United States due to strained relations over tariffs and President Donald Trump's repeated talk about Canada becoming a U.S. state. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Carney will fly first to Brussels, Belgium, starting the trip with a visit to the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery where 348 Canadian soldiers are buried. He will also meet with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the EU-Canada summit, Anand and McGuinty are expected to sign a security and defence agreement with the EU in what one European official described Friday as one of the most ambitious deals Europe has ever signed with a third country. The agreement will open the door to Canada's participation in the ReArm Europe initiative, allowing Canada to access a 150-billion-euro loan program for defence procurement, called Security Action for Europe. An EU official briefing reporters on Friday said once the procurement deal is in place, Canada will have to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the European Commission to begin discussions with member states about procurement opportunities. A Canadian official briefing reporters on the summit Saturday said the initial agreement will allow for Canada's participation in some joint procurement projects. However, a second agreement will be needed to allow Canadian companies to bid. At the EU-Canada summit, leaders are also expected to issue a joint statement to underscore a willingness for continued pressure on Russia, including through further sanctions, and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. After Brussels, Carney heads to The Hague in the Netherlands for the NATO leaders' summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. There, Carney will meet with the King of the Netherlands and later with leaders of Nordic nations to discuss Arctic and transatlantic security. At the NATO summit, Carney will take part in bilateral meetings with other leaders. The summit agenda includes a social dinner hosted by the king and queen of the Netherlands and a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the North Atlantic Council. NATO allies are expected to debate a plan to hike alliance members' defence spending target to five per cent of national GDP. NATO data shows that in 2024, none of its 32 members spent that much. The Canadian government official who briefed reporters on background says the spending target and its timeline are still up for discussion, though some allies have indicated they would prefer a seven-year timeline while others favour a decade. Canada hasn't hit a five-per-cent defence spending threshold since the 1950s and hasn't reached the two per cent mark since the late 1980s. NATO says that, based on its estimate of which expenditures count toward the target, Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. That's more than twice what it spent in 2014, when the two per cent target was first set; that year, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. In 2014, only three NATO members achieved the two per cent target — the U.S., the U.K., and Greece. In 2025, all members are expected to hit it. Any agreement to adopt a new spending benchmark must be ratified by all 32 NATO member states. Former Canadian ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck told The Canadian Press the condensed agenda is likely meant to 'avoid public rifts among allies,' describing Trump as an 'uncertainty engine.' 'The national security environment has really, really shifted,' Buck said, adding allies next door to Russia face the greatest threats. 'There is a high risk that the U.S. would undercut NATO at a time where all allies are increasingly vulnerable.' Trump has suggested the U.S. might abandon its mutual defence commitment to the alliance if member countries don't ramp up defence spending. 'Whatever we can do to get through this NATO summit with few public rifts between the U.S. and other allies on anything, and satisfy a very long-standing U.S. demand to rebalance defence spending, that will be good for Canada because NATO's good for Canada,' Buck said. Carney has already made two trips to Europe this year — the first to London and Paris to meet with European allies and the second to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Security and defence high on the agenda as Mark Carney attends EU and NATO summits
Article content At the NATO summit, Carney will take part in bilateral meetings with other leaders. The summit agenda includes a social dinner hosted by the king and queen of the Netherlands and a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the North Atlantic Council. Article content NATO allies are expected to debate a plan to hike alliance members' defence spending target to five per cent of national GDP. NATO data shows that in 2024, none of its 32 members spent that much. Article content The Canadian government official who briefed reporters on background says the spending target and its timeline are still up for discussion, though some allies have indicated they would prefer a seven-year timeline while others favour a decade. Article content Canada hasn't hit a five-per-cent defence spending threshold since the 1950s and hasn't reached the two per cent mark since the late 1980s. Article content NATO says that, based on its estimate of which expenditures count toward the target, Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. That's more than twice what it spent in 2014, when the two per cent target was first set; that year, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. Article content Article content In 2014, only three NATO members achieved the two per cent target — the U.S., the U.K., and Greece. In 2025, all members are expected to hit it. Article content Any agreement to adopt a new spending benchmark must be ratified by all 32 NATO member states. Article content Former Canadian ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck told The Canadian Press the condensed agenda is likely meant to 'avoid public rifts among allies,' describing Trump as an 'uncertainty engine.' Article content 'The national security environment has really, really shifted,' Buck said, adding allies next door to Russia face the greatest threats. 'There is a high risk that the U.S. would undercut NATO at a time where all allies are increasingly vulnerable.' Article content Trump has suggested the U.S. might abandon its mutual defence commitment to the alliance if member countries don't ramp up defence spending. Article content 'Whatever we can do to get through this NATO summit with few public rifts between the U.S. and other allies on anything, and satisfy a very long-standing U.S. demand to rebalance defence spending, that will be good for Canada because NATO's good for Canada,' Buck said. Article content Carney has already made two trips to Europe this year — the first to London and Paris to meet with European allies and the second to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Article content
