THUNDER BAY — The wheels are in motion to send a delegation from the City of Thunder Bay to the United Kingdom to help formalize the city's next international friendship agreement.
In July 2017 city council authorized city administration to explore an agreement with Bromley, one of 32 boroughs in Greater London. It has a population of about 330,000.
Staff have been working with their counterparts in Bromley for the past year, and representatives of the U.K. community have already visited Thunder Bay.
"We've reached the point of agreeing to a friendship agreement, but we have yet to present that to (the incoming) council," City Clerk John Hannam says.
Hannam told Tbnewswatch he expects that will happen in January, and that a trip by local representatives to London will occur sometime in 2019. "Once we've presented that to council, there will be an exchange visit to finalize the agreement."
Thunder Bay's relationship with Bromley emerged from work that was done over the past four years on the city's World War One remembrance project.
A section of the borough known as Orpington was the site of a war hospital built and paid for by the Ontario government. It's adjacent to a church and war cemetery which contains the remains of 88 Canadian soldiers including Victor Lilia from Fort William.
Lilia was born in Finland, but moved to Canada and joined the Canadian infantry in Port Arthur in January 1918. On arriving in France he was sent into battle, was wounded and gassed, then treated and released. However, In April 1919 he was admitted to the Orpington hospital where he died of cancer.
Orpington Video & Film Makers produced a short film telling Lilia's story
Hannam said plans are already in the works for a scout troop from Orpington to visit Thunder Bay next summer to take a trip with local scouts, and other exchanges are under discussion as well.
Thunder Bay has friendship agreements with two other international communities, and Sister City agreements with five others.
"Friendship agreements are sort of like junior sister cities, if you will. There's a little less commitment in terms of exchanges and so forth."
