Thunder Bay council composition committee readies proposals
CBC
Thunder Bay residents will have their say in the future of the structure of city council this fall.
The city's Council Composition Review Committee has settled on two options, both of which will be brought forward for public consultation in the coming months. A final decision has not been made.
One option, which is being recommended by city administration, would see the size of council reduced to 11, including the mayor. The system would remain a hybrid: four wards, with two councillors elected to each ward, and two at-large councillors.
The four proposed new wards would break down as follows:
In a presentation at Tuesday's committee meeting, City Clerk Krista Power said the proposed new ward boundaries were designed to have similar populations, and a mix of rural, urban, industrial and waterfront areas.
Rebecca Johnson, committee chair and former city councillor, called the first option "quite exciting."
"I think it answers what people wanted in the community through the first consultation," she said. "There's some flexibility here."
"I really like the fact that each ward — one, two, three, four — would represent ... the waterfront, the commercial, industrial, and the rural area, so that every councillor that's elected has a bit of each component of this community. I think that's really, really important."
"The other thing is it will balance the the population and the diversity of our communities," Johnson said. "If we're looking at what we need, I think that that addresses it. I like that component of balance."
The second option is an all at-large system, with 10 councillors and a mayor.
Currently, there are 13 members of Thunder Bay City Council. One mayor, five at-large councillors, and seven ward councillors; the model has been in place since 1985.
The councillor positions would remain part-time, as they are with the current system, with only the mayor being full-time.
Johnson said public consultations are expected to begin in October, and will include an online survey, and information sessions throughout the community.
The committee will use that feedback narrow its options down to one, which they'll recommend to city council in February. If council approves a new composition model, the goal is to have it in place in time for the next municipal election, which is scheduled for October 2026.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.
After more than two years of developing an official plan, the City of Charlottetown is getting close to voting on adopting it. Some residents have concerns with higher density housing the plan could make way for, but others are welcoming it.
Premier Danielle Smith is once again headed to the U.S. later this month to continue her diplomatic approach to tariff talks amid a trade war with the United States.
Point Roberts, a U.S. community in Washington state, is so Canadian that it advertises its gas prices in litres as well as gallons.