Mayoral candidate promises to restore refugee-sponsorship program he says rival quashed

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Glen Murray is promising to revive a refugee-sponsorship program he has accused city council — including rival mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham — of killing in 2016.

However, city council records show the city intended to hand the program over to non-profit organizations.

Speaking at Central Park on Tuesday, Murray promised to revive the Winnipeg Private Refugee Sponsorship Assurance Program, a $250,000 fund that offered financial guarantees to people who sponsored refugees who came to Winnipeg.

Murray claimed "Gillingham and others" on city council cancelled the program in 2016.

"They basically took the opportunity away from thousands of Winnipeggers who were able to sponsor people in crisis," Murray said.

Gillingham says Murray is mistaken, pointing to a 2018 council decision to hand $185,000 in remaining program funds over to the non-profit Winnipeg Foundation to administer on behalf of an organization called Manitoba Refugee Sponsors.

"We took the responsible decision as council to transfer those funds over to the Winnipeg Foundation so that program could continue to help refugees," said Gillingham, who has been the councillor for St. James since 2014.

Regardless of intention, Murray says, the funds are now frozen can no longer be accessed.

The Winnipeg Foundation would not confirm this. LuAnn Lovlin, the foundation's communications director, said the non-profit organization does not administer the funds. The foundation merely holds the money in trust on behalf of Hospitality House Refugee Ministry and Welcome Place, she said via email.

Murray says Jim Mair of Hospitality House told him the program was dormant. CBC News asked Mair for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Regardless, Murray said, Gillingham ought to be more careful about the disposition of city funds if he wishes to be mayor.

The former mayor's decision to single out Gillingham marks the first time Murray has gone on the offensive against another candidate in this campaign.

Murray, who served as Winnipeg's mayor from 1998 to 2004, and outgoing St. James councillor Gillingham are two of the most well-known names among an 11-candidate field of people registered to run for mayor.

The other nine candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Rick Shone, Desmond Thomas and Don Woodstock.