THUNDER BAY — Representatives from the local hockey community, as well as the city's workforce, wanted to present visible opposition as city councillors made their way into the meeting where they'll consider closing an area and eliminating transit routes.
A few dozen people gathered outside Thunder Bay city hall late Monday afternoon, holding a demonstration against a series of proposed budget cuts going before municipal leaders later in the evening.
The list of reductions stem from direction provided by council to city administration during this year's budget process to hit a $1.5-million target for 2024.
The proposed eliminations include the closure of Neebing Arena, along with the majority of the city's outdoor rink sites.
Westfort Hockey Association representative Lex MacArthur, who was involved in organizing a gathering for the local hockey community, said he understands the difficulties that council is facing.
"They're in a really tough spot, but I don't think they recognize the importance of Neebing Arena and what a pillar of the community it is," he said.
"We just can't afford to lose any more facility at this point."
MacArthur noted that 90 per cent of Neebing's ice use is for children under the age of 13, calling the arena a core facility for organizations to use for their youngest programs
"It will tremendously impact our programs. There's no way around it," he said. "The facilities are already pretty tight and the organizations are all pretty tight for ice time as it is. To see a facility that's providing 1,200 hours of ice go by the way side, would be a huge detriment to our programs and providing the kids this opportunity."
The effects of losing Neebing could include not being able to guarantee teams with two hours of ice time per week, he added.
"With tournaments, we're trying to provide the opportunity to everyone and losing any more facilities, we may not be able to host the tournaments at the capacity that we have," MacArthur said. "Speaking for Westfort, we use the Neebing Arena consistently for our tournaments, depending on the number of teams we have.
"It's a scheduling nightmare to think about how we may have to tell teams 'no,' or try to find ways to accommodate. It's pretty bleak."
Other potential changes include the elimination of two city bus routes — 4-Neebing and 6-Mission, even though Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon expressed disappointment that the route was on the chopping block without the community being consulted — along with several service reductions for city recreational programs.
CUPE Local 87 president Deryk Fournier, who organized another demonstration alongside the hockey community, said he was heartened to see people show support for the city services.
"I'm really hoping it changes their decision and that they see this is what we all want. We want to have a place for our youth, and for children and families to go to be recreational and have fun," he said. "If you cut them, they're gone. We want to keep them around."
The 28 recommendations include:
- Cutting the 4-Neebing and 6-Mission bus routes ($294,000 in estimated savings)
- Cutting Christmas and New Year’s Day transit and LIFT+ service ($85,000)
- Closing the Neebing Arena ($180,000)
- Closing 31 outdoor rink sites ($365,000)
- Ending maintenance of 13 parkettes ($25,000)
- Reducing the playgrounds program to six sites ($22,400)
- Cuts to EcoSuperior programs ($18,000)
- Ending the sister cities program ($25,000)
- Eliminating events fireworks ($12,000)
- Cutting the Beck Street EMS station ($25,000)
- Reducing evening hours at Widnall and Heath outdoor pools ($5,500)
