THUNDER BAY – An idea posed during a presentation to the council composition committee has the chair thinking of ways to suggest better representation at city hall, but the committee hasn't committed to anything yet.
“I do know that there are municipalities that have an assigned position on their council for youth,” said Rebecca Johnson, chair. “They don’t vote but have the opportunity to provide input on council. It is something to think about but I’m not sure how the idea will go over in the community.”
The presentation was about representation in municipal government and was conducted by Kate Graham, an assistant professor with Huron University, located in London, Ont.
The committee is composed of six members including chair Johnson, vice-chair Cody Fraser, along with members Heather McLeod, Riley Burton, Wayne Bahlieda and Carlos Santander-Maturana.
At Tuesday's meeting, Johnson said Thunder Bay council doesn’t reflect the community.
“Our council has four women, and the rest are men. We don't have the Indigenous representation around the table, which makes up approximately 25 per cent of the population,” Johnson noted.
“Two elections ago we had a number of Indigenous people running for seats but until you get those minority groups elected, you will never get diversification around the table. It’s something that was brought forward by (Graham) and that has made us seriously think about the issue.”
The compensation of councillors was also raised not only by the presenter, but also by former Neebing councillor Cody Fraser.
Fraser suggested that along with a bump in compensation for elected members, more support for them would also be beneficial.
Johnson agreed that help for councillors needs to be part of the final recommendation to council.
“If you were an individual who wanted to run for council, but are on a low-income level, you would need to have enough compensation behind you to afford to be able to sit on council for four years,” Johnson added.
“Right now the councillors don’t have support staff so you need to have a lot of time to do the job properly.
“I believe people will do the job because they want to rather than what they are being paid to do so. I didn’t run for financial reasons - I ran because I care about the community and it's a way to be able to make change.”
Tuesday’s meeting only had the presentation from Graham, with Johnson adding that the results of the public sessions at the Thunder Bay Public Library being discussed the next time the group gets together.
The committee will also hear a presentation on ward representation on May 7.
When the municipality of Thunder Bay was created in 1970, it began with a mayor and 12 councillors elected evenly across four wards.
That expanded to seven wards in 1976, before the city, in 1985, adopted its current hybrid system that elects a mayor, seven ward councillors, and five at-large councillors.
A final report from the committee on the composition of council is slated for completion in advance of the 2026 municipal election.
Dougall Media has reached out to city clerk Krista Power for language in the municipal act that dictates how compensation is determined for councillors.
