THUNDER BAY – If Donnalee Morettin wins an at-large council seat on Oct. 24, she says she hopes to use the platform to help unify the city.
That starts with getting the city’s 13-member council, often deeply divided over key issues during its 2018-2022 term, “on the same page,” she says.
Morettin, one of 24 candidates vying for five at-large seats on council, wants to see council come together around priorities like bolstering social services, police reform, and revitalizing downtown areas, with a particular focus on the south end.
That includes listening carefully to the recommendations of an expert panel advising the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, calling for strengthened civilian oversight and more representation for regional First Nations in the force’s governance.
“We really need to follow that direction,” she said. “We need to let the experts do their job, and we as city council gather that information and make the best possible decisions."
"Whether it’s the sports plex, whether it’s a roundabout, whatever it may be – we need to go to the experts, which is city administration, and we need to work well with them.”
She also wants to see more neighbourhood beat policing. Morettin currently works as front office revenue manager with a local hotel, but said her five years working as coordinator of the Waterfront District BIA showed her how valuable the model can be.
“It made the downtowns feel safer, it made the businesses feel more welcome," she said. "Knowing that their presence was there had a very big effect for both the people who were downtown and the businesses themselves. I would like to see that back again.”
She’d also like to see approaches like deploying social workers alongside police officers expanded.
While she said the municipal government doesn’t have the resources to “eradicate homelessness,” she called tackling poverty and addiction the necessary first step to making Thunder Bay a stronger and more economically vibrant community.
“The [social] services we provide in Thunder Bay are all downtown in the Fort William BIA – we know that. So where are the people going to go? They’re going to go to the Fort William BIA, and these businesses still need to prosper… but they don’t want to deal with all of these problems. I get it.”
“But we should put the people first,” she continued. “We need to put those people who are needing help first on the list, and then things will get better as we do that.”
On a proposed indoor turf facility, Morettin wants to see council approve a version scaled down from the $46 million design it most recently considered.
“What the soccer people want is just a hangar” and “a building that’s safe and secure,” she said.
“I don’t think the city should be getting their hands into a restaurant facility, I don’t think it should be anything but what they want. And that is to get the kids kicking around a ball in the winter – before they turn 18.”
She envisions the building also being able to serve as a backup evacuation facility in case of events like flooding or extreme cold, she said.
