Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 21, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY MARCH 21, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS STEPPING CAREFULLY Canada geese navigate the partially frozen Seine River on the second day of spring in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Today’s forecast calls for a high of -5 C under a mix of sun and clouds. Prized Cyr wheel missing after WestJet flight from Toronto Winnipeg acrobat going in circles over lost equipment A WORLD-TRAVELLING circus per- former is jumping through hoops after a distinct piece of his baggage was lost by WestJet with no word on when, or if, it will be returned. Winnipegger Daniel Craig and his wife were returning from a string of cruise ship performances on March 6 and caught the last flight back to Win- nipeg from Toronto. The pair landed at Winnipeg Rich- ardson International Airport just after midnight. His equipment, however, did not make the same trip. Craig, who has been a performing acrobat for nearly two decades, lost his Cyr wheel, a large circular metal ap- paratus used by acrobats to spin, roll, leap and glide across the floor. “It’s not something that you can just go to Canadian Tire and replace,” Craig said Tuesday from Flin Flon, where he is teaching circus skills in a program that takes him to remote and northern communities. The Cyr, when disassembled, is five curved metal rods, each about a metre in length. They were bundled togeth- er, shrink-wrapped and tagged before Craig set it down on the oversized bag- gage conveyor belt at Toronto Pearson International Airport. While his initial contacts with at- tendants were helpful, Craig said the response has become apathetic; he’s written to both airports and WestJet, sent photos and descriptions of the lost item, but has experienced mostly fin- ger-pointing. “That’s really the frustrating part, is that I know it’s just sitting somewhere in a room,” he said. The day after his flight from Toronto, Craig travelled to Japan for a string of performances. When he returned nine days later, he checked in with the air- line at both airports, but there was still no news on the equipment. “There was no word. No updates on our file and nothing from customer sup- port,” he said. “To me, it’s like a musician losing their prized guitar, there’s a history and a feeling and a sentiment behind it.” He’s had the custom-built Cyr — which he named Alexandra — since he went through circus school in New Eng- land 15 years ago and has used it during performances across the globe. NICOLE BUFFIE SUPPLIED WestJet airlines lost world-travelling acrobat and Winnipegger Daniel Craig’s Cyr wheel, a circular piece of equipment he uses during performances. ● ACROBAT, CONTINUED ON B2 Lone dissenter complains tax hike insufficient to fund services, repairs City budget passes in a landslide T HE City of Winnipeg’s 2024-27 budget was approved by nearly all city council members in a final vote Wednesday amid some complaints it didn’t raise taxes high enough. Council cast a 14-1 vote in favour of the operating budget and a 13-2 vote in favour of its capital budget. Mayor Scott Gillingham credited the result to extensive collaboration among council members. “Coun. (Jeff) Browaty has worked very hard as the chair of finance… to try to hear from, work with every coun- cillor. I acknowledge that, inevitably, a city budget… by the time we get to a vote, every city councillor has com- promised,” said Gillingham. “I credit Coun. Browaty and the ef- forts of our colleagues to work together and try to find common ground.” Despite strong support, there were some demands for change. Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) voted against both budgets, accusing elected officials of perpetuating a decades-long trend of “self-imposed austerity.” Wyatt said the city has a long-standing tradition of either freezing taxes or raising them by too small an amount to properly fund city services and infra- structure. “Keeping taxes low… (has under- mined) our inherent ability to deliver the services we’re responsible to deliv- er,” said Wyatt. The current $1.4-billion tax-sup- ported operating budget includes a 3.5 per cent property tax hike in each of the next four years. “Maybe we need to have the courage to go to the citizens of Winnipeg and say, ‘I know I promised this, in terms of a tax increase, but now we have to (raise it higher),” said Wyatt, who did not say how much of a tax hike would be appropriate. Gillingham said inflation has already made it difficult for Winnipeggers to balance their own budgets, which a higher tax increase would make worse. Despite supporting the overall budget, Coun. Cindy Gilroy argued councillors who don’t sit on executive policy committee or the budget work- ing group lack information on the fiscal blueprint, making the process unfair. “It’s (different for) those that are in the room and those that are not in the room,” said Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre). She also suggested the city raise business tax rates for the largest com- panies, while keeping them frozen for smaller ones. The budget freezes that tax at 4.84 per cent. Gilroy said many smaller inner-city businesses need more help since they are already “struggling to stay open” due to theft and violence. The vote followed a few final re- quests. Pride Winnipeg called for the city to provide annual funding to support its efforts, estimating Pride events creat- ed $2 million in economic benefits for the downtown in 2022. “We understand the budget is tight… (But) we’re asking for our share of the pie,” Barry Karlenzig, the organiza- tion’s president, told reporters. Karlenzig suggested the city cover half of the roughly $35,000 in city ser- vices required to support the event this year. During the meeting, Couns. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), Gilroy and Vivian Santos (Point Doug- las) promised to cover all city costs for this year’s Pride parade, using ward funding. JOYANNE PURSAGA MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Mayor Scott Gillingham and council passed the current $1.4-billion budget at city hall. ● BUDGET, CONTINUED ON B2 ;