Councillor vows to keep serving despite charges

WINNIPEG — Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt vowed Thursday to continue doing his job after more criminal charges were laid against him this week, while the mayor called for “better tools” to address elected officials who face serious allegations.

Wyatt, 56, was charged Monday with sexual assault and administering a noxious substance in an October 2023 incident. He was previously charged with sexual assault and administering a noxious substance in March, based on allegations tied to a 2025 gathering.

On Thursday, Wyatt arrived at city hall and quickly walked to his office at 10:20 a.m., nearly an hour after the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee meeting he planned to attend was scheduled to begin.

He answered few questions from reporters.

“I’m here for a public hearing,” he said.

Wyatt said he would “absolutely” continue to do his job as a councillor, though he did not provide a clear reason for his late arrival.

“You have to talk to my lawyer,” he said in response to questions about the new charges.

His lawyer, Evan Roitenberg, told the Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday that Wyatt is innocent.

Mayor Scott Gillingham and several city councillors have urged Wyatt to step away from his city hall duties voluntarily.

Under the City of Winnipeg charter, a provincial law, a member of city council automatically forfeits their seat if they are convicted of certain serious criminal offences. It does not apply when charges are laid.

On Thursday, Gillingham called on city council to ask the province to review the rules and explore significant changes.

“Our powers and authorities are limited under the current charter right now. I want to stress this council member is presumed innocent until proven otherwise … But there’s got to be a balance, in that city council members and the mayor need to be able to have the tools to deal with matters,” he said.

The mayor wants the province to consider modernizing the rules governing criminal convictions, including a review of which serious convictions should automatically disqualify someone from continuing to hold municipal office.

He will also ask the province to create temporary measures that could be imposed on elected officials facing serious criminal charges, which could include temporary removal from all committees and boards, mandatory remote participation in council and committee meetings, or, in the most serious cases, being placed on leave.

The province should also review eligibility rules for candidates who run in municipal elections, to determine if more restrictions are needed on those facing “serious criminal charges,” the mayor said.

Gillingham said Wyatt’s participation at city hall amid the allegations he faces has proven a major distraction and triggered complaints.

“The charges are very, very serious. I’m hearing from members of the public when I’m out at events … that they’re concerned, that this is serious. I’ve had people tell me they want me to take more action, and I say, ‘Well, we were taking all the action we can.’ This is a distracting matter for council at this time,” he said.

The mayor noted many workplaces require an employee facing criminal charges to take a leave of absence until the matter is resolved.

“I believe it’s time for the charter to be reviewed, to be modernized, and for other measures, if possible, to be put in place that would give council more tools to deal with a member in a case like this,” Gillingham said.

He plans to share a notice of the motion in September, which will call on city council to formally ask the province for the changes. The actual vote would be considered by the next city council in November, after the Oct. 28 municipal election.

Premier Wab Kinew also said Wyatt should step away from his duties as councillor.

On CBC Radio Thursday, Kinew called the allegations “really nasty, very creepy and just disgusting.”

Kinew also said the province should look at changing the rules for elected officials facing criminal charges.

He said it would be difficult for the province to make changes to the charter prior to the municipal election.

“But there’s clearly an issue here, and so I think we should look at it this fall, and maybe, hopefully, the charter could potentially be changed for the next round of the terms that the councillors and mayors and reeves will be serving,” said Kinew.

Any changes to the charter would need to be fair and respect the presumption of innocence, he said.

“It’s an important thing to get right, and that’s why I think it’ll take time,” he said.

Wyatt has not said whether he will seek re-election in October. Candidates have until Sept. 22 to register.

Wyatt was previously charged with sexual assault in 2018, after a woman told police he had attacked her in his home. That charge was later stayed.

Following that allegation, city officials explored implementing a forced leave of absence for council members facing certain criminal charges, including assault and sexual assault. However, the change was never approved amid concerns it would conflict with the presumption that those facing criminal charges are innocent until proven guilty.

» Winnipeg Free Press