THUNDER BAY — Concerns about American tariffs, cybersecurity and the use of AI technology were all raised in city council’s latest budget discussions.
Council looked at the first half of the 2025 proposed operating budget during Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting – that includes corporate revenues and expenditures, as well as the city manager's department, and the corporate services and community services departments.
There were no changes made to the proposed budget for any of those departments, but notable discussions took place on the potential impacts of U.S. tariffs on the budget as well as
Fleet services and Trump tariffs
Coun. Andrew Foulds asked fleet services manager Doug Glena whether the city has prepared for U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on Canadian exports, set to take effect on on Feb 1.
Glena said there is not a lot of information yet on the impacts tariffs could have on the supply chain for automotive parts.
He told council that fleet services have contracted service arrangements with contractors at a fixed cost, but said parts that need to be ordered from the USA are a “really a big unknown.”
Glena said fleet services always try to “source parts in Canada first” before needing to look elsewhere.
Currently, proposed budgeted materials for fleet service are set at $7.4 million which is a $113,300 decrease or 1.5 per cent decrease from 2024.
An $270,600 increase the in parts and other supplies budget is offset by a $383,9000 decrease in fuel costs, according to the budget.
Cybersecurity and AI
Foulds also asked Jack Avella, corporate information technology manager, if his division has the budget and the staff to protect people's private information.
The corporate information technology division has a proposed total budget of $7.5 million and they employ 34 full-time staff dedicated to cybersecurity.
“We know that, like any other organization, being connected to the internet means that we have risk. And so, it's very important for us to put controls in place, and we work at that on a regular basis,” said Avella.
“We're continuously evolving our cybersecurity program, and at the same time, we're also continuously evolving our ability to recover from a cyberattack should we be unfortunate enough to suffer something significant.”
“We do have a multi-layered security program in place – so we have multiple layers to protect things from phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, viruses, various malware – but we know it's very important to ensure we keep those systems up to date. But also, as the threat landscape changes, we need to evolve that strategy.”
Avella said that in February he will be presenting a detailed report on how his division plans to improve the city’s cybersecurity.
In the 2025 proposed operating budget, Avella highlighted three priority areas: advancing projects related to the digital strategy, enhancing the city’s cybersecurity controls and technology recovery capabilities, and reviewing opportunities for the use of artificial intelligence and developing an AI governance model.
Coun. Shelby Ch'ng asked how the administration is using AI now and if the city was budgeting enough for AI technology.
Avella said that his department does not “have a formal AI program or a set of initiatives that we are looking to implement.”
He stated that his division is only in the learning phases of AI technology and exploring the capabilities of applying ChatGPT.
“We are being cautious as to what we use AI for at this point,” said Avella.
He noted that there is “no specific budget need at this time” for AI technology but his department is exploring more uses for AI, which might have budgetary implications next year.
City manager John Collin pointed out that the city will “probably never be in a position where we can afford all of the people we need to do everything that a modern evolving city will have on their plates.”
Therefore, he stated a potential application for AI technology would help to increase work productivity and keep costs down by not needing to hire more staff.
“We are still very much in a go-slow approach. We are forming a working group to start thinking through and examining the possibilities as we move forward, but that's where we are in the process right now. As soon as there is a budgetary requirement, we will be bringing it forth to council,” said Collin.
Budget deliberations
The city’s budget deliberations will continue on Feb. 03 and Feb. 05. with ratification of the 2025 operating budget scheduled for Feb. 10.
The growth department, infrastructure and operations department, all agencies, boards and commissions will be available to answer question from council.
The city has an online survey about the budget, which will remain open to the public until Feb. 4.
