To the editor:
It has been a few months since North Bay city council passed a motion directing city staff to produce a report on the feasibility of a ward system for North Bay. While certainly not a hot-button issue as we head into the summer, I think it is important for us all to remember a few key elements of why a change is necessary, and what it could look like.
I know there have been suggestions by some that the size of council should be shrunk.
The clarion call of “our councillors are overpaid and don’t do anything” has been sounded time after time over many decades. The reality is generally the opposite. Being on council is a very full-time job, for part-time pay. There is the ever-expanding blob of meetings and committees, on top of having to sift through the mountain of paper the city hall produces (so that councillors can make informed decisions). I have nothing but respect for those councillors engaged on a full-time basis in council duties.
Many also balance full-time jobs as well. Shrinking the size of council would create even larger burdens on them and might dissuade others from seeking office. I would respectfully suggest that the size of council should stay as it is.
This leads to my next point. The discussion should not revolve around money. The objective of a ward system is to make our democracy more responsive and accountable. While detractors might say that “all politicians are bad” and we should have fewer of them, I disagree. Keeping a democracy healthy costs money, and if there is anything in this country that is worth spending dollars on, it is this.
The report from city staff will undoubtedly have a list of comparable cities in Ontario. Our model should have an eye towards good representation, not trying to virtue signal how stingy we can be.
Lastly, I should mention the benefit of wards. Imagine the concept of being able to call one of your ward councillors and ask why your road wasn’t plowed. While your councillor may not know, it will be in their interest to get you an answer from city hall. They can make inquiries to city staff and might even come to your door. A councillor visiting your house to figure out your problem and advocating for you to the city? Revolutionary? No. This is how it works in the rest of Ontario.
Too often now, the average citizen doesn’t know who to talk to when they have a particular issue with their property.
Issues disappear into the black hole at city hall (at least they used to, I’m not going to pass judgment on our new council just yet). If your ward councillors don’t take an interest in serving your needs, you’ll have a direct opportunity to get rid of them every 4 years. Someone who lives downtown won’t be voting for a councillor that represents West Ferris.
I am very much looking forward to the city staff report. I sincerely hope that there will be public meetings and some robust public debate.
Wes Fudge
North Bay
