Just finished with the CBC panel at Sorrento's restaurant in the Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza.
There were five panelists. Two were business women and community volunteers, one was retired and a volunteer was, was was between jobs due to health issues and then there was myself.
From the CBC was producer Donna Carreiro and CBC host Terry McLeod and their sound technician.
Terry McLeod, left, panelist David and myself, right.
The discussion was broken into three segments. The first was to describe the neighbourhood and some misconceptions about it. The next segment was about the community issues and the third segment was the what the panel wished for the city.
In the first segment the panel agreed that it was wrong to think that the neighbourhood was completely wealthy. It was pointed out that there was Manitoba Housing in the ward and a mix of income groups from lower to high. The community club volunteers stated that 40% of the young people at the clubs needed some sort of income assistance to help pay for their sport.
The first segment touched on crime and there was an indication that the area was not devoid of it and that it was a misconception to think so. Many had first hand experience with vandalism, theft and fear of going out at night within the ward.
The second segment was about the needs and issues of the ward and what people thought about taxes. Everyone on the panel agreed that tax could go up and maybe should go up if there was an indication that it was addressing infrastructure and needed programs in the community as well as policing.
The third segment was about what everyone wished for in the community. There seemed some agreement that whoever was elected at to be thinking about community issues beyond Charleswood-Tuxedo. There was a desire for connectivity with the rest of the city in terms of transit, policing and programs. What this meant was that people on the panel thought you can't solve crime in Charleswood without thinking of the city as a whole. You can't fix infrastructure only in Charleswood if you simply bottleneck on Portage Avenue or Kenaston. And it means nothing if your community club is vital if all the others in the city are falling apart. The recognition was that parochialism does not serve the community well.
There was not much talk about the candidates in general. We are still in the dark to a great extent about who is running and what they are about. I hope that we see even great information in the days ahead. Still, the CBC panel was and should be illuminating to those in ward and in the city in general.
Charleswood is such a large ward. I both live and work in it and hope for the best in it and the city as a whole in the years ahead.
The Charleswood-Tuxedo ward.
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