A pair of Winnipeg mayoral hopefuls hit the campaign trail on Tuesday with pledges to improve city customer service and reduce water bills. In a campaign announcement on Tuesday, Scott Gillingham promised to improve 311 and make it easier for residents to access city services. If re-elected, Gillingham would bring water and waste customer service into 311, expand the My Account service into a full-fledged customer service portal, introduce automatic updates for 311 service requests, and establish a 311 line for small businesses. Gillingham also highlighted that in his time as mayor he lowered 311 wait times from 11 minutes and 22 seconds to one minute and 15 seconds—an 89 per cent reduction. “I’ve heard some candidates in this election suggest that we should get rid of 311 or break it up,” he said. “I completely disagree. 311 is a valuable city service that hundreds of thousands of Winnipeggers use every year. And we’ve demonstrated what happens when you invest in making it work better.” Meanwhile, mayoral hopeful Don Woodstock unveiled his plan to protect Winnipeggers from high water bills and taxpayer-funded court actions. Woodstock pledged to freeze all pending utility lawsuits, recall files from outside legal firms, and create an internal water review and relief board. Woodstock also promised a 50 per cent reduction in water rates for 2027. “Winnipeg should be in the business of helping its citizens, not bankrupting them over broken meters, bureaucratic mistakes, or overcharging,” Woodstock said in a news release. “Taking a senior or a struggling family to court over a [$3,000] water bill they never ran up is not proper governance; it is cruel and unjust and demonstrates how heartless this current administration has been towards the hardworking men & women of Winnipeg.” The Winnipeg municipal election is just over two weeks away on Oct. 28.
