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Speaker Devi Sharma was born in India and has many extended family members in the country. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)
A devastating surge of COVID-19 deaths in India hit home for one Winnipeg city councillor Thursday, who briefly left a public meeting in tears.
A devastating surge of COVID-19 deaths in India hit home for one Winnipeg city councillor Thursday, who briefly left a public meeting in tears.
Early in the council meeting, Coun. Kevin Klein asked fellow councillors to acknowledge those suffering in the country and their loved ones in Winnipeg.
Posted: Dec 16, 2020 6:57 PM CT | Last Updated: December 17, 2020
Speaker Devi Sharma voted against the operating budget tightening the vote to 9 to 7 as it narrowly passed. (Darin Morash/CBC )
The 2021 budget was passed by Winnipeg s city council with a tighter margin than in recent times.
The vote was 9-7 in favour of the operating budget, and 11-5 for capital spending.
The narrow margin came from the usually understated voice of council Speaker Devi Sharma, who broke her consistent record of supporting budgets by voting no on the operating portion of the 2021 budget.
The Old Kildonan councillor said the structure of how the budget is pulled together and the input that s gathered for it must be greatly improved.