Russ Wyatt attends committee at Winnipeg City Hall after sexual assault charge

Russ Wyatt, the Winnipeg city councillor facing criminal charges including sexual assault, appeared at a community committee meeting at City Hall Thursday.

Wyatt is the councillor for Winnipeg’s Transcona ward. He joined the East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee’s special meeting Thursday, appearing in Winnipeg’s Council Chambers after the meeting reconvened, shortly before 11 a.m.

The 56-year-old is facing charges in relation to two incidents — one from October 2023 and another based on allegations from last December. He was removed from several committees following his initial charges in April, but a civic bylaw allows him to remain on this committee as he must represent his ward.

“I’m here for a public hearing,” Wyatt told reporters as he arrived, responding to why he was at City Hall. He deferred questions related to the recent charges to his lawyer.

Global News reached out to Wyatt’s defence lawyer for an interview. The request was denied.

Noting the charges Wyatt is facing, she said, “That’s ultimately Coun. Wyatt’s decision.”

Under the City of Winnipeg Charter, councillors charged with crimes are not automatically removed from the regular council or committees. It says they can only be forcibly removed from council after conviction.

“These charges are extremely concerning,” a spokesperson for the Manitoba government told Global News in an email statement Wednesday, in reference to the charges laid against earlier this week.

In a news release Thursday, the office of Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said he will ask the city council to start the process of altering the charter, allowing it to use “better tools to respond when an elected official faces serious criminal charges or convictions.”

“Being charged with an offence is not the same as being convicted, and politicians should never have an unrestricted power to remove another democratically elected representative,” Winnipeg’s mayor said in the news release.

Current provincial regulations give the city “almost no middle ground,” he added.

“We also have to respect the presumption of innocence and the democratic choice of voters. Right now, provincial legislation gives Council very little ability to balance those two principles when serious circumstances arise,” Gillingham said.

The release said the mayor decided to request the change after several councillors showed concern about its limitations. If approved by Winnipeg city council, the city will formally request the province review the charter.

Wyatt has not yet registered to re-run for the upcoming municipal election. When asked why he has not done so yet by reporters, he said it was “because I haven’t registered to run for the campaign yet.”