New City of Winnipeg CAO says up-close view of past mistakes will prevent future errors

The new head of Winnipeg's public service is a 21-year civil servant who says the mistakes he's seen made under previous municipal administrations will help him prevent future pitfalls.

City council voted Thursday to approve the appointment of Michael Jack as Winnipeg's new chief administrative officer.

The city had been without a permanent CAO since Doug McNeil resigned in March 2019.

The effort to find a new top administrator was placed on hold twice in the ensuing two-and-a-half yearsonce because of the pandemic and then again because an initial shortlist did not include enough diverse candidates.

Jack has worked for the city for two decades, serving as city solicitor, chief corporate services officer and deputy chief administrative officer.

He was a senior city official when the Sam Katz administration approved two construction projects that later embroiled the city in scandalthe fire-paramedic station replacement program and the construction of the new Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

'Oversimplification' to suggest city, province have bad relationship, says new Winnipeg CAO

3 years ago

Duration 0:53

New Winnipeg chief administrative officer Michael Jack said the working relationship between the city and the province is a good one, despite media coverage of political interactions.

Jack said Thursday his experience will serve him well as a watchdog in the future.

"Wehave learned a multitude of lessons," he said Thursday after council voted 14-2 in favour of his appointment.

"You're getting someone who has the benefit of having seen all of that and knows the benefit of avoiding those pitfalls."

Couns. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) and Shawn Nason (Transcona) voted against his appointment.

Klein told council Winnipeg missed an opportunity to bring in a CAO withno history with the public service.

"From a business perspective, we've missed an opportunity to bring about change," Klein said.

Jack said he hopes to prove Klein wrong and bring about positive change.

Jack replaces Mike Ruta, who acted as chief administrative officer after McNeil's departure. Ruta, who previously served as chief financial officer for more than a decade, is going to retire.

Mayor Brian Bowman thanked Ruta for leading Winnipeg through the October 2019 snowstorm that brought thousands of trees down on streets, cars, homes and power lines.

New Winnipeg CAO Michael Jack on working for city during police HQ, firehall projects

3 years ago

Duration 1:13

Longtime civil servant Michael Jack has been appointed as the City of Winnipeg's new chief administrative officer. Jack has worked for the city for more than 20 years, including during the years when there were controversial land deals. On Thursday, he said he learned through that experience and believes the city has improved its transparency since that time.