Changes to Thunder Bay's council size, makeup are on hold — for now
CBC
A long-standing debate at city hall in Thunder Bay, Ont., will be put on pause after council voted to allow the clerk's office until 2023 before starting consultation on how to change the composition of council.
Council voted down a Notice of Motion - put forward by Coun. You Peng You on Monday, which would have reversed the decision council made a year ago, to have administration look into the composition of council.
You wanted to change the decision. If his motion passed, he would have then take the question to voters to see if they were in favour of an 8-member council, all at-large seats, with one mayor.
Councillors contacted by CBC News after the vote stated they wanted the public to weigh in before they made a decision.
Coun. Kristen Oliver, who brought foward the resolution passed a year ago, said she thinks there's an appetite for change.
"I believe that what I was bringing forward would fundamentally provide the best outcome, in the sense that we could have that discussion with the community on what we want their electorate to look like, what their council should look like, what ward boundaries should look like."
"I think those are really important issues that the community needs to chime in on."
Mayor Bill Mauro, who voted in favour of You's proposal, said he was in favour of examining the composition of council a year ago and he still is now.
"I supported moving ahead with the process then, which would have had a significant community consultation attached to it, and would have put council in the position of changing the composition of council, for sure, in 2022," he said. "Last night's motion that I supported was me being consistent with the position that I look fully one year ago."
Mauro said he wants to see some sort of change on council, at least examining the boundaries of the municipal wards, based on municipal growth.
"I do believe that most councillors believe some change will be seriously considered," he said. "We're all on the same page in wanting the community consultation to occur. If we made the decision to go ahead in November 2020, we would've had a year to do that, and get a vote to elect people differently in 2022."
Coun. Shelby Ch'ng, who voted against the motion Monday, said public consultation is key but so is accessibility. For example, running for council, particularly an at-large seat, can be expensive.
"I'd hate to see people excluded because of funds, and I think you need representation from all walks of life and socioeconomic background to be on council."
"I'd like a system that can set up for a bit of a succession plan. I find that when it comes to council members, I like the idea that the ward system is a little bit easier to chew off if you're a new council member. That's how I got on council. And then, you're able to almost move on to running for a mayor, or an at-large seat, or another level of the government."
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