Latest news with #MichaelJack
CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
City of Winnipeg nominates provincial bureaucrat to be new top civil servant
Mayor Scott Gillingham's inner circle has nominated a provincial public servant with a background in engineering to serve as the City of Winnipeg's new chief administrative officer. The executive policy committee unanimously approved a motion naming Joseph Dunford to lead the civil service. The nomination still needs council approval. Dunford currently serves as the deputy minister of public service delivery for the province of Manitoba. He has more than 20 years of experience as a professional engineer, having worked in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, a news release from the mayor's office said. He has worked on large-scale projects, including a $5-billion hospital in Halifax. If approved, Dunford would begin work on Aug. 4. He would replace former CAO Michael Jack, who resigned in June 2024, less than a week after an audit of the city's workforce. Jack had come under fire from some council members for his management of the city's administration, after the audit found the city lacked adequate processes for performance reviews and measuring progress toward key goals. Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt was censured by council, after he refused to apologize following an ethics commissioner report that found his criticisms of Jack amounted to harassment. In a news release, Gillingham thanked interim CAO Sherwood Armbruster, who has served in the role since last June.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Coun. Wyatt asks court to quash reprimand against him by Winnipeg city council
Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt has asked a court to quash a Winnipeg city council reprimand against him and order council to apologize. Wyatt is seeking a judicial review of a Jan. 30 city council vote to reprimand Wyatt for refusing to apologize for comments he made in 2023 about former Winnipeg chief administrative officer Michael Jack. "We need a change. We need a new CAO and we need to start removing some of the deadwood that exists in senior management," Wyatt said in his initial comments about Jack in 2023. Jack filed a complaint later that year, arguing Wyatt violated the harassment rule in the city's code of conduct. A subsequent report by an acting integrity commissioner found Wyatt breached that code and made "objectively offensive comments." The report recommended Wyatt apologize or face a council reprimand. After he refused to apologize, council voted 12-2 in favour of that reprimand, with some arguing this action didn't go far enough. "We need more than just we're reprimanding. I think the public needs more," Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) said at the time. Councillors Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) and Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), meanwhile, voted against that reprimand in January. Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) was not present for the vote. Neither was Wyatt, who said before the vote he didn't believe he did anything wrong In a notice of application to Manitoba's Court of King's Bench, Wyatt lawyer Dave Hill argues council erred in determining he harassed Jack and acted in bad faith by issuing a reprimand. In addition to an apology, Wyatt is seeking costs. Council Speaker Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) declined to comment. So did Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.
