Councillor Vivian Santos

Thank you @winnipegtrails for making winter activities more accessible to Point Douglas residents this winter. I am proud to support the Winterpeg initiative bringing groomed xc ski trails and equipment to the Point Douglas ward with Winnipeg Wellness grant funding. The FREE Mobile Ski Library offers snowshoes, kicksleds, xc skis and skates to anyone who wants to use them! They operate on a first-come-first-serve basis, with various sizes available. ... I was thrilled to get outside with my family today! We had a great time - it was our first time hitting the trails together! Want to try it? Happy to share that the FREE Mobile Ski library will be at Woodsworth Park TODAY from 4:30PM-7pm. Check the calendar on WinterPeg.org/calendar for additional dates and times of the pop-up FREE Mobile Ski Library locations across Winnipeg. #pointdouglasward #winnipegwellness #winnipegwinter #wpgpoli

If you know me, you know I LOVE to work out. Happy to share that beginning Monday, March 8 the following fitness and leisure centres in the Point Douglas ward will re-open for limited fitness services: Freight House... Sergeant Tommy Prince Place Residents are encouraged to book two-hour fitness blocks prior to arriving at the facilities, as there is no guarantee of available blocks for registration upon arrival. Capacity is limited to ensure physical distancing guidelines are maintained and following provincial guidelines. Individuals are asked to maintain a distance of at least two metres from every other individual who is not in their household and respect and follow the directional signage and floor markings. Customers are asked to use the self-assessment symptom checklist before entering the facility. Access to washrooms is limited and there is no access to change rooms or locker rooms; please come dressed to use the amenities. Hand sanitizing stations will be available at each entrance. For more details on community recreation updates please visit: https://winnipeg.ca//r/facilities/fitness_weight_track.stm

Thrilled that the Winnipeg Wellness grants are bringing so much joy and play to our neighbourhoods this winter! Thank you Winnipeg Trails for your Winterpeg initiative brilliantly connecting our city through trails, inspiring outdoor play and providing vital access to winter equipment - a barrier many face in the Point Douglas ward. Happy to share that the FREE Mobile Ski library will be stopping in the neighbourhood this weekend! ... Saturday, February 27th Freight House 9:30AM until 12 noon Woodsworth Park 4:30PM until 7PM Snowshoes, kicksleds, and if the location/weather allows, skates will also be available! Please note, social distancing is in effect. The FREE Mobile Ski Library operates on a first-come-first-serve basis, with various sizes available. Check the calendar on WinterPeg.org/calendar for additional dates and times of the pop-up FREE Mobile Ski Library locations. I am proud to support this incredible initiative in the Point Douglas ward with community Wellness Grant funds. Winnipeg Trails

Thank you Damon Johnston co-chair of The Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Inc.MaMawi Wi Chi Itata and End Homelessness Winnipeg for your work in developing this innovative indigenous lead solution. I am hopeful our government partners can come together to take immediate action to move this incredible project forward. Image: Cibinel Architecture... https://www.winnipegfreepress.com//momentum-builds-for-vil See more

The Village Project is an innovative and creative community driven step we can take toward supporting Indigenous individuals who are at risk of homelessness. Led by Ma Mawi-Wi-Chi-Itata Centre Inc, The Village Project is also supported by six other Indigenous organizations including End Homelessness Winnipeg The Village Project proposes to construct 22 tiny homes located near the Circle of Life Thunderbird House in the Point Douglas ward with additional services based on Indi...genous approaches and models. The design and concept was completed after engaging with people directly living in the encampments, Indigenous knowledge keepers as well as six Indigenous project partners. I am hopeful we can work together with our government partners to support this innovative shovel ready project to begin building affordable Indigenous led housing now. . #wpgpoli #mbpoli #cdnpoli #safecitybydesign Cibinel Architecture

Happy Lohri! Sending the warmest wishes to all celebrating this special day. May the coming year bring you and your family joy, love, health and prosperity. . #pointdouglasward #winnipeg #happylohri #happylohri

Grateful to get outside to play with my family this winter. The kids love skating, tobogganing and ice fishing - they’re always encouraging me to go outside to play! . I’m thankful that we can access the outdoors during the pandemic for our mental, physical and social health. . Thank you for continuing to follow public health guidelines. We’re stronger together.... . If you or someone you know is struggling please call 211 to access our support network - this pandemic is difficult to endure, we all need support. . #pointdouglasward #winnipeg #winter #healthywinnipeg #gooutside #mentalhealth #covid See more

A fare-free public transit system will keep more money in the pockets of Winnipeggers and help spur the local economy. Public transit is critical to the future success of Winnipeg. Sharing why I’m working to reduce economic barriers to access public transit:... https://www.winnipegfreepress.com//Time-to-make-public-tra

I look forward to the year and work ahead. As your city councillor, I embrace the opportunity to collaborate, connect and work together with community organizations and constituents in 2021 for better outcomes for all in the Point Douglas Ward. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all and will continue to have lasting impacts. It is my goal to work together with community partners to reduce the social inequities through policy, support and collaborations to develop better co...mmunity support networks. As the Chair of the Winnipeg Committee for Safety, I will continue to listen to our community partners and work to create a safer and healthier Winnipeg for all to thrive. We are launching public information tool kit that compiles services and supports to better connect all Winnipeggers to the valuable supports available to them. Creating vibrant public spaces in the Point Douglas Ward continues to be a high priority, the following projects will be unveiled in the coming year: Brooklands Park re-development connecting Blue Bird and Lismore Park North Logan Alderman John O’Hare Park enhancements Inkster Gardens Kamagata Maru Park community engagement for for park development design plan Weston Re-naming street to Cantor Way to honour long time Point Douglas family business Cantor’s Meats Centennial Commemorative park bench in Good Dong Park in honour of Mr. Joey Ritchie The Winnipeg Wellness Grant will also bring $40,000 in community led projects and initiatives to the ward this winter. I am thrilled by the community response so far and look forward to building a better Winnipeg for all with these funds. Looking forward to the work ahead this year, we are stronger together. . #wpgpoli #pointdouglasward #winnipeg #community #wpg2021 #collaboration #communitypartners #healthequity

One of the most influential moments for me in 2020 was when I walked with the Mama Bear Clan. The Mama Bear Clan is a community safety initiative that was created by the North Point Douglas Women's Centre Women’s Warrior Circle. Excerpted from the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre website: In 2016 a group of mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts decided that safety is something that is fostered through relationship: within ourselves, our home, and in the community. Some...times all people need to feel safe is knowing someone cares about them. By connecting with our neighbours and our friends living on the street we hope to build friendship and trust within our community while incorporating the Seven Sacred Teachings: love, truth, honesty, respect, courage, humility and wisdom. We recognize that women and men share responsibility for community safety which is why we work together in a mutually understood matriarchal leadership structure. The result is our organizing principle: "led by our women, supported by our men." I look forward to continuing to work with the Mama Bear Clan in 2021 and support the invaluable community work they are doing. As the Chair of the Winnipeg Committee for Safety, I was honoured to recently be able to offer support with donations of sleeping bags, gloves, multivitamins, tampons and maxipads.

Getting the outdoor rink at Old Market Square ready for you! Big thanks to our Parks and Open Spaces team who is working hard to get these rinks ready for you. Fingers crossed for real winter weather soon! . #pointdouglasward #winnipeg #winter #community #skate #mentalhealth #getoutside #exchangedistrictwinnipeg

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year’s Eve. We have many opportunities to learn from 2020, I look forward to working together with community partners and constituents to make 2021 brighter and better for all. . #pointdouglasward #winnipeg #community

Want to see your artistic creation on our city streets? The Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre @wcccc.mb have collaborated with the @downtownwpgbiz to open up the 2021 street banner design competition to you! 2021 is the Year of the Ox according to the traditional lunar calendar. The winning design will emphasize the Year of the Ox, while complementing the existing Chinatown district banners in terms of colour, type, and graphics. All banners will be mounted in t...he six city blocks bounded by Main St, Princess St, Logan Ave, and James Ave. All Manitoba creators, as individuals or in teams, are invited to enter. Deadline for all submissions is5:00 pm, Friday, January 8, 2021. For more information, please visit the @downtownwpgbiz #pointdouglasward #chinatownwpg #designcontest #streetart #finditdowntown

As the chair of The Winnipeg Committee for Safety, I was honoured to safely visit and support @kanikanichihk with some donations for the holiday season. Ka Ni Kanichihk was established in 2001 by visionary community leaders and Elders who understood that Indigenous-designed and led programs and services are essential for bringing about meaningful transformation. Ka Ni Kanichihk offers daycare services, employment support, youth program supports, counselling and many more valu...able services. Today we were able to drop off: Socks Toe warmers Masks Personal products . #pointdouglasward #communityofcare #winnipeg #wpgpoli #kanikanichihk #giving

In the Fall of 2005, my aunt passed away from breast cancer, and many more family friends have been affected. 2nd leading cause of death from cancer in Canadian women. 5,000 women will die from it. 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Factors that increase your risks are: age, taking hormone replacement therapy and having a family history of breast cancer. Please go get tested!! #breastcancerawareness #octoberbreastcancer #breastcancermonth

Today, I spoke to my daughter about #MMIWG #MMIWG2S she wanted to help me write and tie red ribbons on the Arlington Bridge overpass aka Reconciliation Way. I will also continue to educate myself on the #CallsforJustice in the Final Report of the National Inquiry. This is the only way forward & I am standing with my sisters #neverforget #noreconciliationwithoutjustice #winnipeg #indiginous #indiginouslivesmatter #winnipegindigenousaccord

Would you like to participate in the Million Tree Challenge? Telpay, Canada's trusted electronic payment service located here in Winnipeg, is a major sponsor o...f this initiative to plant one million trees in Winnipeg. This coming Saturday, October 3rd Telpay will be hosting a free tree giveaway from 1-4pm at the Neeginan Aboriginal Centre, 181 Higgins Ave. This will be set up as a drive-thru and contactless pick up. Take your trees home to plant and don't forget to register them to count in the Million Tree Challenge.

Councillor Vivian Santos, together with Principal Sandy Stevenson of Lord Nelson School and community leaders will be celebrating the completion of the schools new play amenities.

Mid-Autumn Festival is about family, friends, good food, welcoming the new fall season and honouring our long-standing traditions. I am so proud to live and represent a city that is built on cultural diversity. Traditionally, Moon Festival was celebrated at harvest time. Today, people celebrate the Moon Festival as a time for family reunions like Thanksgiving holiday. Mooncakes are the must-eat mid-Autumn food in China. May the glow of the moon surround you and light your way to health, happiness and prosperity. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

My speech today on a very sensitive topic for me. We all know that working on this job, meeting with community leaders, we are always learning from them and we must listen to our constituents and literally walk in their shoes. I attended the Black Lives Matter rally at the legislative ground and listened to their stories. I told myself that very day, that I would do everything in my power to ensure that all Blacks, Indigenous and Persons of Colour would be heard at this tab...le, and try my best to think about them when I read and review city policies. Improper policing is not new. And what we are seeing are incidents like these happening in a pattern. This is a pattern of of an attitude towards BIPOC and systemic racism towards others. At last week’s police board meeting, the Chief of Police simply didn’t agree with the communities views. At this time, and with my lived life experience with the Winnipeg Police, I am having a very hard time believing the police and signing off an agreement which will allow them to continue to be in my schools. I implore the Chief of Police and the Chair of the Winnipeg Police Board to do more due diligence and research on the SRO program. I implore the Chief of Police and the Chair of the Winnipeg Police Board to re-evaluate the SRO Program. I really do believe there is an opportunity for the Chief of Police and the Chair of the Winnipeg Police Board to really listen to the community. I am concerned that we have headed down a path where we look at any kind of teenage acting out is worth being criminalized. It ends up looking as if our only response is more cops. More cops on the street, more cops at the airport, more cops in the schools, more private cops at malls and libraries. I think it’s a case of, if we think everything is a nail, then we only reach for a hammer. But what the Black Lives Matter movements has shown us is that everything isn’t a nail, and a hammer can’t be our only tool.

I was inspired by Niigaan James Sinclair OpEd and it was important that our government City of Winnipeg Municipal Government heard it and be on the public record. I could not have written about #EveryChildMatters #OrangeTshirtDay better then you! #winnipeg #pointdouglasward

Thank you Red Eagle Promotions for the personal delivery of my #EveryChildMatters Orange T-Shirt Day in honour of Residential School Survivors. Plan to wear this during my Council Meeting this September 30th #supportindigenousbusiness #supportsmallbusiness #supportlocalbusiness

This local Ecological Reserve located at the corner of Shaughnessy/Aberdeen is very dear to my heart. I specifically remember working with my predecessor Mike Pagtakhan on this reserve since 2016. From renaming it to Mokriy Ecological Reserve after long-time residents of the Point Douglas Ward, Mr. and Mrs. Don and Olga Mokriy, whom have advocated for this small piece of land behind their home be dedicated as an ecological reserve, which preserves wilderness and wildlife, a...nd protects the natural heritage. In July of 2017 and again in October of 2018, a total of 51 plants of 15 different species were planted in this ecological reserve. Together with the local community, we all learned how to properly transplant from the pot to the ground, as well as learned how to water and care for the reserve after planting. It was fantastic to see the community come together over the years to help expand this local natural forest located in Northwest Winnipeg. I could not have been more elated when Mayor Brian Bowman and City of Winnipeg Municipal Government chose this location to plant a tree on #NationalTreeDay together with Deputy Mayor John Orlikow City Councillor River Heights - Fort Garry. There is no other natural forest in Northwest Winnipeg, and I just wanted to take this time to personally thank Mr. and Mrs. Mokriy for their continued efforts and passion in caring for this natural forest over the last few decades.

Last week Thursday, Sept. 17th, Councillor Vivian Santos and community members participated in a ground-breaking ceremony to recognize the beginning of construction at two (2) green spaces known as Blue Bird and Lismore Parks located in the Brooklands neighbourhood. The park renovation has been guided by in-person and online public engagement with Brooklands-area residents. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com//Redevelopment-begins-at Parks and playgrounds are places where people can come together as a community or just enjoy as a family. This is a great opportunity to renew an important public space in Brooklands. I am so excited to see the vision shared by these residents come to life in their own neighbourhood.

For Immediate Release Friday, September 18, 2020 Temporary closure of Arlington Bridge ... Winnipeg, MB The Arlington Bridge between Dufferin Avenue and Logan Avenue will be temporarily closed for two weeks for maintenance, beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday, September 21, until 6 a.m. on Monday, October 5. Pedestrian access will be maintained. Motorists should allow for additional travel time, and use alternate routes such as the McPhillips Street Underpass or Slaw Rebchuk Bridge to reach their destinations. For regular updates on City of Winnipeg lane closures and to view lane closures on an interactive map, please visit City of Winnipeg - Regional Lane Closures. Download and use the Waze app for real-time traffic and incident updates.

Councillor Vivian Santos and community members participating in ground-breaking ceremony today to recognize the beginning of construction at the connecting Blue Bird and Lismore Parks located in the Brooklands neighbourhood. The park renovation has been guided by in-person and online public engagement with Brooklands-area residents.