THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay city council has voted unanimously to seek greater input into the city’s decision not to host evacuees from natural disasters this year over COVID-19 concerns.
The decision was made in March by the Municipal Emergency Control Group (MECG), which includes senior city staff and representatives from local emergency services, health, and education institutions. At the time, Mayor Bill Mauro and city manager Norm Gale said the city’s resources were simply stretched too thin by the pandemic to handle hundreds of evacuees.
The city has often hosted large numbers of evacuees from remote northwestern Ontario communities in the past.
Coun. Mark Bentz, who moved the motion at council's Monday meeting, said the decision was a major one with implications for the city’s relationships and reputation.
“These decisions are far more than just operational, although the operational component is extremely important,” he said. “They are political decisions as well.”
Bentz suggested councillors had not been informed of the city’s decision on the matter in advance.
“This issue came on our radar, many of us, when we learned that our community had identified itself to the province as being an unwilling host to evacuees,” he said.
No other councillors spoke on the motion, but all voted in favour of it. It will see city administration report back on ways to involve city council in the decision by June 22.
