THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council expressed broad support for a review of its own size and composition Monday, but reluctantly delayed the process until after the next municipal election in 2022.
The move means any changes to how residents elect the council – such as reducing the number of councillors, modifying the city’s hybrid ward and at large system, or redrawing ward boundaries – won’t be implemented until at least the 2026 election.
Most councillors supported a recommendation to conduct the review in 2023-2024 from the office of city clerk Krista Power, who said timelines would be tight to complete adequate public consultation in time for 2022, given the strain the COVID-19 pandemic was already placing on her office.
Mayor Bill Mauro was critical of the report, saying it represented an overstep by city administration.
Councillors had initially directed the clerk to report back on the possibility of a public consultation process that could see changes implemented in time for the 2022 election.
“The recommendation from the clerk’s office seems to go beyond the scope of the council resolution,” he said. “I really do see it as a bit of creep in terms of what the original resolution was asking for. We didn’t ask for this to be delayed to 2026.”
Coun. Rebecca Johnson later took issue with Mauro’s comments about Power’s report, calling them “utterly out of line” and offering Power an apology.
Coun. Mark Bentz, while refraining from criticism of the mayor, agreed that the report had been appropriate.
“I’m of the opinion that I want to give administration full latitude to make the recommendations they feel are in the best interests of the public and the council,” he said. “After all, we don’t have to accept those recommendations… but I still would like to know the thoughts of our administration.”
Power’s report, while recommending a delay, had also included options to conduct it in time for 2022, either by conducting a more limited consultation process or hiring a consultant to do the work (that would bump the review’s cost from $15,000 to $80,000, she estimated).
However, she also warned the pandemic could limit the public’s ability to participate regardless.
Mauro argued the review was an important exercise that could be conducted in time for the next election, saying many residents don’t believe the current council system is working appropriately.
However, the mayor found little support for his contention it could be worth the additional cost to hire an external consultant.
Several councillors said they had little appetite for the added expense, preferring to see the review conducted by the clerk’s office.
Councillors expressed concerns that delaying the work until 2023 meant the new city council elected in 2022 could abandon the project entirely.
Power said her office would continue to move the project forward under the next council, but agreed that council would reserve the right to reverse the decision.
Those concerns were ultimately outweighed by the desire to keep the city’s immediate focus on COVID-19, however, and to ensure any major changes like redrawing ward boundaries weren’t rushed.
“If we are going to change the boundaries, we need to have a good go at it,” said Coun. Shelby Ch’ng. “Doing election reform mid-pandemic, I don’t think we’re going to get the consultation from the public that we need.”
Johnson expressed her belief the next city council would be hard pressed to drop the project after it had been approved, saying she saw growing public interest in the matter.
“If a council came in and said ‘we’re not doing it,’ the repercussions of that would be significant,” she said.
Coun. Andrew Foulds said he believed the current system, if sometimes messy, worked well to represent constituents. However, he agreed a review should have fulsome public input.
Mauro and Coun. Brian McKinnon reported hearing consistent feedback from residents that the size of council should be reduced, but didn’t believe there was much desire for larger structural changes, such as moving entirely to a ward or at large system.
“I don’t hear an appetite to make a big change,” said McKinnon. “The only thing I’ve heard is to lower the number [of councillors].”
Council ultimately approved the recommendation to conduct a review of city council's composition in 2023-2024. Councillors Cody Fraser and Aldo Ruberto joined Mauro in voting against the recommendation.
