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Series lead Nanaimo Clippers work overtime for playoff win. PAGE 34
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THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
Samra aims for innovative leadership
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250.390.1871
VOL. 27, NO. 87
INTERIM CITY manager named to top spot.
Mountie in Taser death files lawsuit alleging he was ‘scapegoat’ BY JOHN McKINLEY BLACK PRESS
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
Culture surrounds Nanaimo city manager Tracy Samra at her downtown office, from First Nations art to an eagle feather and sweet grass. “When I feel I need to centre myself spiritually and be in a good place to deal with a hard thing, I will from time to time, smudge,” she said, laughing as it was pointed out there were already a few used matches lying nearby. Samra, a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta was officially announced Monday as the first woman and aboriginal to hold the top bureaucrat position at city hall. She has been interim city manager since November. It was a return to city hall for Samra, who was initially hired as the corporate officer and legislative services manager when she arrived in Nanaimo with her husband in 2013. It didn’t work out the first round, she said, but it was also the impetus for her to go back. At the time there was a different leadership style that was more controlling of its employees than she thought was healthy, she said, adding she thought she could help change the dynamic of the organiza-
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Tracy Samra shares some goals, achievements so far and personal perspectives about her role as Nanaimo’s new city manager.
tion and approach things in another way. “I thought a more open, proactive, innovative leadership approach would benefit council, would benefit staff and the community,” she said. One of the first changes she announced was the elimination of three general management positions, part of an effort to get to a zero-per cent tax increase. It was also, for Samra, a way to get access to the people directly managing departments. She said she saw an organization largely man-
aged by a city manager and three general managers. She now has a team of 10, who can brainstorm together, express ideas and at the same time be directly responsible for what happens in their departments, she said. During her interim term, she also kicked off a $248,900 core review to look at efficiencies in delivery and financing of city services. Recommendations so far show leadership training and management support haven’t been as robust, and there’s a need to standard-
ize and centralize business at the city, she said, adding the latter means, for example, managing assets the same across the city instead of differently in each department. “For me that’s really a comfortable place to be,” she said. “I love policy. I love policy design. I like having consistent systems.” Samra was chosen as the permanent city manager from more than 50 candidates. It’s not yet known how many people were interviewed. See ‘MANAGER’ /10
One of the four RCMP officers at the centre of the Robert Dziekanski scandal is suing the government after the force allegedly threw him under the bus. Gerry Rundel, an RCMP constable, has filed suit against the B.C. Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of Canada alleging RCMP actions and statements in the wake of Dziekanski’s death by Taser at Vancouver International Airport in 2007 have caused him irreparable damage. “The plaintiff has suffered permanent and irreparable harm including extreme embarrassment, loss of reputation, extreme stress resulting in disabling psychological and physical injury, personal expense and financial loss and he will continue so to suffer,” a claim filed Monday in Nanaimo B.C. Supreme Court states. “As a result of negligent conduct of the defendant, the plaintiff’s career with the RCMP has been effectively destroyed and any other future career path seriously and adversely affected.” The suit states the defendants made Rundel a scapegoat by failing to publicly support him in the aftermath of the incident, by not making it clear he was not involved in any use of the Taser, and by not correcting misinformation reported in the initial press conference. It further alleges defendants made public statements critical of his actions and suggested he had been disciplined despite the fact they knew, or ought to have known, he had acted appropriately according to his training and the policies in place at the time. The Dziekanski case made international headlines after the Polish citizen was tasered during a police incident at the Vancouver Airport on Oct. 14, 2007, and died. Initial police statements regarding the incident conflicted with evidence that later surfaced, including a highly publicized video recording. This led to allegations of a cover-up and a high-profile public inquiry into police conduct. See ‘OFFICER’ /5
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