Thunder Bay City Council delays controversial cuts to transit, ice rinks after backlash

Thunder Bay City Council voted Monday night to delay controversial budget cuts to transit, ice rinks, and city committees while city staff consult with stakeholders and explore possible alternatives. 

All of the deferred cuts will now be added to administration's budget directions report for 2024, which it will present to council in July.

Councillors voted in favour of a motion from Coun. Trevor Giertuga to seek public input before closing the Neebing Arena, shutting down 31 outdoor ice rinks, ending the Sister Cities program, and eliminating the Mission and Neebing bus routes.

"I think we've all heard a lot from the community," Giertuga said.

"I've probably got the most emails in many years about the closure of Neebing and the outdoor rinks. ... It's significant to our community and to our young folks." 

Councillors also deferred decisions to eliminate the Heritage program and end non-emergency driveway culvert replacements while they examine the ramifications of those moves.

Staff will complete community consultations on the proposals prior to council's August meeting.

Councilors, meanwhile, voted 9-1 to approve 22 other budget cuts proposed by city staff, including eliminating transit service on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, closing the Beck Street EMS station, and ending the Citizens of Achievement event, event fireworks, and movie nights in the park.

The lone dissenter was Coun. Shelby Ch'ng, who called the debate a distraction from the real issue, which is the ballooning cost of emergency services and a shrinking industrial tax base.

The cuts are the result of a contentious 2023 budget process that saw residents slamming city staff over a proposed 5.6 per cent tax levy after growth.

Councilors brought the number down to 4.4 per cent in part by instructing staff to find $2.2 million in staffing and service cuts.

The resulting list of 28 recommendations, published online last week, led to an outcry from the hockey community, which was upset by the proposal to close the Neebing Arena.

"I'm not sure how they will work that," said Jesse Traer, the president of Thunder Bay Women's Hockey. 

"We're going to eventually have to cut programming, I would think, because there's not going to be enough ice time for the teams to use, or every team ends up with less ice time, and now we're fighting even more to get on the ice."