About Chris (More Personal)
Chris grew up in Flin Flon, Manitoba. His dad was a hydro lineman for over 45 years and his mother was a well traveled child of a military family who later went to veterinary school. They raised two kids in a house that they built with their own two hands on Schist lake. His sister is an engineer.
He was a unique kid who grew up with a tremendous amount of energy and curiosity. He used the money from his paper route to collect coins and paper money with rare serial numbers.
Though he struggled in a younger years learning environment, he excelled in high school.
When he was 18 he moved to the city and started attending university classes at the University of Manitoba. He had a special interest in sociology, criminology, and social justice classes.
At a young age, he developed a deep interest for road safety issues and traffic law. Spurred on by a close family member getting a ticket, and seeking to understand the basis of why, he quickly locked onto traffic law and went on to advocate for multiple road safety issues.
Chris worked with city councillors to install eye level lights at crosswalks, to properly sign roads, to increase dangerously low amber light times at signalized intersections, and to replace missing school zone and playground signs.
A typical drive with Chris may often involve him talking to construction crews and sign crews about proper signage and practices. With his experience working with hydro, he still calls in potential hazards whenever he sees one.
His work has led him to be critical of photo radar that prioritizes profit over safety.
One of Christian’s biggest passions is gardening. Every summer he grows a massive garden and gives almost all of the produce away. He loves to build garden boxes, and he keeps detailed records of effective gardening practices.
Though he has an astoundingly active mind, one of his favorite summer pastimes is wild blueberry picking. He can pick buckets and buckets, and yes, he usually gives them all away.
Chris is known for his delicious cookies. Anyone who knows Chris, knows what special cookies he makes. They are so soft and buttery, and he is always making them and passing them out.
Yes he is booksmart, but he is also a very physical person, with a deep passion and understanding of building. His dad taught him a lot about wiring and electricity. One look at his garden, and you will see a pretty decent carpenter. He spent his time in Flin Flon in the bush building forts and doing museum installations. He is no stranger to hard work, and to this day he loves hunting for dead trees and filling his dad’s shed to the brim with firewood for the winter.
Chris graduated with a law degree in 2024. He is set to graduate with a Masters of Law in the spring.
He was hired to work for Jason Schreyer, after Jason observed his work in the Free Press that led to a city wide audit on wasteful spending.
After Jason died, Chris put almost all of his energy into building the Grocery Affordable Access Program (GAAP). Within a year, the program became hugely successful and has been featured on all major news platforms. He funded it with his own money, and created a near perfect system of a program where the expenses are incredibly low, is entirely volunteer run, with the food basically paying for itself and the costs of running. Chris called the GAAP a bridge program for those that would not necessarily access a food bank, but still need help with the cost of living.
Chris has worked with youth programs, and has been an asset to the Winnipeg School Division where he served as a career advisor. He revolutionized the ‘Take Your Kids To Work’ program, by reaching out to local businesses, and planning field trips to those places.
Chris is well versed in a range of topics. His brain has an almost photographic memory. When he locks onto an interest, he can cite page and article numbers with ease. Those that meet him are often struck by his intelligence and clarity.
He has high ambitions, with a record of proven advocacy that has accomplished a tremendous amount. He hopes to make change in the political sphere, publish books, continue breakthroughs with traffic safety, obtain his PHD, and maybe even one day teach at a university. He has a dream of expanding the Gaap in Jason's memory, and seeing the model grow and branch out into different areas.
Christian’s work has been published on all major news platforms. In 2022, the Free Press featured his work in a 4 part major series that led to a city wide audit. Just this month, his work was featured in the Free Press advocating for safer crosswalks and exposing a deadly engineering flaw that may have led to a fatality.
Anyone that knows Chris, knows that he has a heart of gold, and a super computer of a brain. He still carries a love for hydro memorabilia, collecting glass insulators and cut outs.
