Down to knocking on the last doors: 6 candidates vying in Point Douglas byelection
NDP stronghold will be tested by wide field of candidates in June 13 byelection
At a recent candidates forum at Thunderbird House, activist Michael Redhead Champagne called the area around Winnipeg's Point Douglas area "R2W — the most apprehended postal code in Canada."
Champagne was referring to the overwhelming numbers of kids in the care of Child and Family Services in the area. The grim statistic underlines some of the huge social and economic challenges facing those neighbourhoods.
It is in this environment, combined with obvious signs of poverty and above-average crime issues, that six candidates are vying to replace the NDP's Kevin Chief as Point Douglas's representative in the Manitoba Legislature.
To say that the North End constituency is a New Democrat stronghold is an understatement. Chief polled twice the votes of all challengers combined in the 2011 contest and the party has held the seat for generations.
But every election brings a fresh slate of contestants and politics is a business prone to change.
Ahead of the June 13 byelection, here's a look at the six candidates running for the seat in the Legislature.
The candidate profiles below are organized alphabetically.
John Cacayuran — Liberal
John Cacayuran pulls to a stop in front of a seniors' centre on Robinson Street in advance of a coffee party with residents.
He estimates he's taken four days off the campaign trail in the last five months (his wife insisted he did, he says) and this is just another "must do" if he hopes to upset the incumbent NDP.
A Point Douglas boy, born and raised, Cacayuran lives just over the geographic edge of the constituency these days and got his political juices flowing as the constituency manager for federal Liberal MP MaryAnn Mihychuk.
If you want further proof of his Point Douglas roots, the former investigator with Manitoba's Liquor and Gaming Authority met his wife at the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre while inspecting a bingo.
Yep, that's the PD.
Cacayuran has heard a similar refrain from constituents during endless days of door knocking: safety is the issue.
"They feel there is no trust with the police. They feel that no one is taking care of them, but at the same time they are very proud to be North Enders and they love living here. They just wish it was safer for their kids," Cacayuran says.
Cacayuran says the solution isn't easy.
"It's a tough one, but what you have to do is build that relationship between the community and the police. Build that trust back again," he says.
Cacayuran believes support for groups such as the Bear Clan and the Mama Bear Clan are key to starting those relationships.
"What's lacking here is an actual voice. We hear it from this community. They want their issues being brought up [in the Legislature]," he says.
If you want to get Cacayuran's head to spin around quickly, catch him from behind and say, "Hey, Buddha! How's it going?"
The nickname came from a friend who was making a reference to some pounds that Cacayuran once had, but has clearly shed (perhaps from kilometres of pounding the pavement).
His hobby isn't perhaps as spiritual. Cacayuran confesses he has collected McDonald's figurines, and his children now get rewards from a duffel bag full of them.
Sabrina Koehn Binesi — Green Party
Green Party candidate Sabrina Koehn Binesi's rapid-fire delivery appears to have little to do with nerves and more about her passionate interest in politics.
She's worked in 13 different government departments as a temporary staff worker and says she had to "just let it go" when she saw things that weren't productive.
Her roots go back to the Sandy Bay First Nation, but she's lived in Alberta, Ontario, on the East Coast and in Portage la Prairie. She confesses her favourite place in the world right now is her backyard in Point Douglas.
The Green Party attracted her with its mix of activism and environmental responsibility and she loved federal Green leader Elizabeth May.
When the offer came to run in Point Douglas, she said, "Why not?
"I just said, 'I'll do it. I'll take this opportunity and throw myself into it.' So here I am," Koehn Binesi says.
Koehn Binesi says the biggest issue she hears from people in the constituency is that no one is listening.
"It's just a lack of engagement. No one's voice is being heard. There is a bunch of educated seniors on a corner of Main [Street] I talk to and they say, 'We sit here every day and look at this street. We have no garden, we have no space, but we see pawn shops and beer vendors taking advantage of our people,'" Koehn Binesi says.
As a volunteer at the Bell Tower — a landmark on Selkirk Avenue that draws weekly meetings to end violence in the North End — Koehn Binesi has seen politicians come and go, but says it's mostly for photo ops.
"It's really unfair and it's really selfish, because they should be there for us," she says.
Koehn Binesi says she won't be that kind of politician.
As for personal interests, Koehn Binesi says she loves the arts and has loved to drum since a partner gave her a hand drum years ago.
Koehn Binesi says she doesn't have a nickname these days, but confesses her mom called her "Breena."
Frank Komarniski — Communist Party
A friend dubbed Frank Komarniski "Chucky" years ago and he isn't sure why, but he still hears the name from close friends and family.
The City of Winnipeg employee says it took years of minimum wage jobs to get to where he is now. He says that struggle shouldn't be repeated by thousands of others and a major campaign promise would be to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour.
"It's a struggle. Going from day to day, deciding what you have to pay, to look after your kids," he says.
Komarniski, who is Métis, says the biggest challenge in Point Douglas is racism.
"That's No. 1. It's something I face every day of my life. People look at us … look down at us. I gotta listen to it all the time," Komarniski says.
Komarniski says people in the constituency need to be inspired and government needs to make investments in the area — in social housing and in building what he calls "help centres" to give people assistance in sorting out their problems.
"Like a helping hand. Everyone should care about one another," he says.
Komarniski admits gaming is his vice with World of Warcraft being a special favourite.
Gary Marshall — Manitoba Party
As far as hobbies go, Gary Marshall's interests are perhaps more serious than collecting stamps or model trains.
"I study public finance theory," Marshall says without a trace of irony or apology.
"Two hundred years ago, somebody came up with a theory about how big government could get but it was discarded for some reason," he says.
"Now we can see the very noxious effects of big government. It's everywhere, especially in this community."
Marshall's fledgling Manitoba Party attained official party status recently and he says it draws its supporters from all the other mainstream political entities.
"We are fed up," he says. "There are certain special interest groups that benefit from government and benefit wildly. And there are the rest of us — a lot being left behind."
Marshall repairs medical equipment for a living, but worked for years as a security guard and investigator and doesn't hesitate when asked what issues are most pressing in Point Douglas.
"You've got a transient community in certain areas. Crime rates, youth unemployment is very high. You've got addictions problems, mental health issues," Marshall lists rapidly.
Marshall and the Manitoba Party prescribe a series of deep tax cuts to encourage growth and reverse the flight of people out of the province, ending subsidies for single mothers (which Marshall says feed a problem of poorly educated children in impoverished families) and wholesale change to how government deals with illicit drugs.
"You've got governments that insist on treating a medical problem as a criminal problem. And that is a big problem. That is what creates a lot of your issues with gangs and drugs and so on," Marshall says.
Nickname?
"I'm just Gary, " Marshall says.
Jodi Moskal — Progressive Conservative
Jodi Moskal says one of her many perspectives on Point Douglas comes from working in a crawl space in the Mount Carmel clinic off Main Street.
Moskal may be a co-owner of a successful electrical business, but says she can't resist getting out of the office to pull some cable and wire up some circuits. And there is a streak of pride that comes from being a licensed electrician.
"It's a way to be able to look after yourself. To not be the damsel in distress at the side of the road when you have a flat tire. It's being able to fix things in your own home — understanding how to use tools. It's life skills, " Moskal says.
Moskal says working on projects such as Mount Carmel and volunteering for causes based in Point Douglas make up for not living in the constituency (she lives in Charleswood).
And she says she has lived in Elmwood, the West End and downtown, making her view of the city much broader.
Like many candidates, Moskal has heard it at the door and on the street: safety in Point Douglas is a major issue. She's recently heard of at least one effort at a solution.
"I just went to a forum, the night before last, that the Winnipeg Police Service put on. They have a plan for exactly this area and I plan to work with them," Moskal says.
Moskal says she's determined to take the ideas the community has on safety into the Legislature and "make sure there is a light shone on it."
Moskal says she declined to participate in two recent candidate forums because door-to-door campaigning and meeting people privately is more effective.
The rookie candidate got a quick lesson in politics recently when provincial funding issues for the Point Douglas Women's Centre blew out of the Legislature and into the neighbourhood.
The NDP accuse the PC government of cutting funding to the centre. The Tories say the funding had lapsed and are looking at new streams for keeping organizations like the women's centre running.
"When I hear that at the doors and I fill them in on the truth and the details, people understand and relax. They know what's being talked about is not [the centre's] operational funding. It was a project grant. A project has a start, a middle and a finish, and that project grant ended January 2017. Why it was brought up in June, I don't know," Moskal says.
For the record, Moskal says she "absolutely" supports the Point Douglas Women's Centre and the work done there, and would champion further funding for it.
Also for the record, Moskal responds to the nickname "Mojo." Its a handle she was given by her husband after a cartoon character and it's written on her personal tape measure.
In her spare time she sews quilts and currently has three projects on the go.
Bernadette Smith — New Democratic Party
It's OK to call her "Bernie."
In fact, the North End-raised Smith (whose maiden name is Chartrand) knew when she was in trouble because she heard her entire name being used.
"When I hear 'Bernadette' it's almost like I did something wrong because [I'd hear] 'Bernadette Lyne Chartrand!'" she said.
Smith's activism in the area is personal. As a young person, she was briefly put in care, and subsequently reversed those dark moments with help from a strong social worker, two extraordinary teachers and her mother.
Smith would end up working for child welfare agency Marymound ("That whole notion of full circle," Smith said) with kids with serious challenges.
She ultimately landed in education in the Seven Oaks School Division.
Tragedy visited her family when Smith's sister, Claudette Osborne, went missing in Winnipeg in 2008.
Osborne's disappearance sparked the beginning of intense activism. Smith is the co-founder of the Coalition of Families of Missing and Murdered Women in Manitoba and the Drag the Red effort to locate missing victims of violence.
Point Douglas faces numerous social issues, but Smith hears constantly about a few of the most critical.
"Safety is a huge issue, right? We know that we don't have safe and secure housing," Smith says.
The long-time activist says programs to foster community and bring a sense of neighbourhood to the area are critical to heal many of the obvious wounds.
Smith says the economic plight of many residents of Point Douglas and the difficulty in rising through that is a constant challenge.
"Poverty is huge and, you know, people want to go back to school. They want daycare accessible. They want to have affordable tuition," Smith says.
On a lighter note, the mother and grandmother says she likes nothing more than getting out on a snowmobile or quad and opening up the throttle.
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