Mar 6 2024- Listeners Question Mayor’s Portage And Main Ploy

The Great Canadian Talk Show

It's time to reach in to the mailbag- along with online feedback - to tell what the TGCTS audience thinks about what's going on in Winnipeg!

With Mayor Scott Gillingham's abrupt about-face on re-opening the iconic Portage and Main intersection to pedestrian traffic, they have lots of questions and comments in Episode 23.

7:38 Part 2- First, an update on the March fundraising campaign, and how you can contribute to our $3800 goal by using the Donate page on ActionLine.ca.

12.19 - Marty Gold tells of a fluke discovery of a Portage and Main photo of WHA Jets fans celebrating in front of the Richardson Building at an Avco Cup parade- "and there they were", over a half dozen friends from the Jewish High School, including his brother.

15.40- Topping listener reactions were predictions of roadway mayhem, delays affecting St. Boniface Hospital and the working class, and sceptical questions about who is pulling the strings to get the barriers removed.

Comment of the day:

"He must be kidding... rampant homelessness and crime + raw sewage into Red River + can't ride a bus without risk of murder = OPEN PORTAGE AND MAIN!"

- Will Portage and Main see a new generation of absent-minded pedestrians and/or methheads wandering into the path of trucks and buses?

• To send story tips, comments, and contribute support via Interac- Email [e-mail]

20.30- You'll hear an audio clip of a TV interview with Coun. Brian Mayes.

He echoed the concerns we aired about pushing the plan through during budget season, and the fact it looks like a done deal when "the numbers have not been presented accurately."

- A listener crunched the repair vs reopen costs and concluded, "So dead pedestrians are worth a $13 million savings."

- You'll hear an email from a first time listener who said, "I am looking forward to you getting to the bottom on what is behind this insanity." He raised important points - never once mentioned by the compliant MSM in town - about whether property owners will demand a tax reduction.

- Overall, people are evaluating the political calculations in play for Gillingham, and which movers and shakers may be involved in a 'Vote Open' quid pro quo for their support in the 2026 election.

29:00 Part 3- Marty wonders, what will happen to businesses east of Main Street? They rely on the concourse to deliver customers who won't likely want to try braving the wind tunnel crossing the corners. Yet another angle no one wants to talk about.

- An update on the City suppressing public involvement in the Primary Transit Network meetings. There is no doubt bureaucrats removed the main page link, and buried the schedule deep on the website.

Marty calls BS on the excuses of 311; a councilor should take 5 minutes to ask what really happened. But then again, how many councilors promoted the sessions about the bus route changes on their media channels? And- We stumbled onto a strange aspect of Coun. Dobson's approach to social media.

• Many of our top podcasts and stories are listed ⁠on the Donate page⁠ and when you check them out, you'll see-- WE EARN YOUR SUPPORT.

36.29 - A tip about Bell MTS layoffs (we'll have more about the Unifor fight to save jobs in an upcoming podcast); a listener has a possible explanation of why police shot Bradley Singer when trying to fulfill a mental health warrant.

To conclude Episode 23, Marty lays out some of the future plans to expand public affairs coverage- and why your support this month is integral to make sure your voice is heard.

Coming up- a coast-to-coast update that the Winnipeg media will never provide. Escalating mob intimidation of politicians and Jewish communities by the Iran-funded Hamas fan club has cowed police across the country into standing down.

Scenes straight out of 1930's Nazi Germany are now seen every day in Toronto, Montreal and elsewhere. It's coming to Winnipeg, and we need to be prepared.