Winnipeg, MB – Today, the City of Winnipeg launched the new Community Service Ambassador (CSA) program, which will see City employees deployed in City-owned public spaces to provide information to residents on COVID-19 and the measures being recommended by Manitoba Health, beginning Saturday, April 11, 2020.
“This is an opportunity to speak with residents who might not be getting the message regarding usage of our public spaces and the recommendations on physical distancing,” said Mayor Bowman.
The City’s CSAs will be deployed across the city with a focus on parks, open spaces, and places where people tend to gather. Their role will focus on providing information when they encounter large groups or encounter residents who are using City amenities that are closed due to COVID-19, and to remind residents of the health and safety recommendations that are in place across the city.
“We recognize that the guidelines around safe social practices for COVID-19 are dynamic and changing regularly, and that we are continuing to make changes on a nearly daily basis around the operation of various City facilities,” said Jay Shaw, Assistant Chief of Emergency Management. “By engaging in this manner, we are able to provide the most up-to-date information directly to residents who might be carrying out activities that are in contravention of current recommended practices or current closures.”
In addition, the City’s Interim Chief Administrative Officer, Mike Ruta, authorized the issuance of a new order regarding the restriction of activities in City-owned parks, which goes into effect immediately. The order includes:
- Prohibiting access to any of the following areas or locations within City-owned parks:
- Skateboard sites,
- Play structures,
- Picnic shelters,
- Outdoor barbeques, and
- Athletic and sports fields, pitches, diamonds, greens, courts or similar areas.
- Social distancing requirements while within City owned parks:
- Individuals must maintain a distance of at least two metres from every other individual while within any park, and
- No person may be within a group of 10 or more people.
- The social distancing requirements do not apply to people who can demonstrate that they are living together as members of the same household.
While the goal of the CSAs is to encourage voluntary compliance with Public Health orders as well as City orders, we also realize that enforcement of City closures is necessary. In addition to CSAs, the City will be utilizing its By-Law Enforcement Officers to enforce the City orders. The By-Law Enforcement Officers are able to hand out warnings and appearance notices that could result in the imposition of penalties of up to $1,000 and up to 6 months imprisonment for not respecting City orders.
This multi-tiered education and enforcement effort will be led by the Community By-law Enforcement Division of Community Services using the City’s By-Law Enforcement Officers, along with some staff who are currently without work due to the closure of all City-owned and operated recreation centres, pools, arenas, and libraries, and the suspension of all programming in those facilities.
The City has been working closely with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) through the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to work with CUPE during the roll out of these temporary reassignments to ensure these employees continue to make a meaningful contribution to our community, while still retaining their pay and benefits.
“The goal of this program is to enhance efforts to get factual information into the hands of the public. Ideally, we hope that we don’t have to hand out any penalties; however, that mechanism is there if we need it to help reinforce the message on City closures,” concluded Bowman.