THUNDER BAY – POLITICS – A sweeping governance reform proposal could significantly reshape how Thunder Bay City Council operates, including dissolving 10 of its advisory committees—among them, the influential Anti-Racism and Equity Advisory Committee.
City clerk Krista Power will present the first reading of the City Governance Structure Report at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
If council approves the plan on June 23, it would mark the end of the current advisory committee system in favour of smaller standing committees and flexible task forces.
Among the committees marked for dissolution are the audit committee, clean, green and beautiful committee, community communications committee, downtown Fort William revitalization committee, EarthCare advisory committee, and the waterfront development committee.
The changes aim to improve efficiency by reallocating responsibilities to administrative departments or smaller, more agile working groups.
Currently, advisory committees must meet strict procedural requirements, including maintaining quorum—an issue that has led to a quarter of all scheduled meetings being cancelled or downgraded to information sessions since September 2024.
Staffing Struggles and Potential Alternatives
Administration says that 111 citizen seats across 16 committees are proving hard to fill, with over 15 percent of those positions vacant.
The anti-racism committee, which includes members from Fort William First Nation and eight community organizations, is particularly impacted by these constraints.
In response, the city is exploring using legislated bodies like the Community Safety and Wellbeing Committee to absorb the mandate of some disbanded groups.
For anti-racism work, a potential solution involves forming a task team that reports to this legislated body—sidestepping quorum rules but potentially narrowing public involvement.
Critics tell NetNewsLedger the real issue here is that voices from the wider community will no longer be heard. As Thunder Bay balances efficiency with inclusivity, the coming weeks will be pivotal in shaping how residents engage with civic governance.
