Editor’s note: you can find the full recap of the evening’s meeting on Twitter. Below are a number of highlights from Monday night.

2022 Annual Report

The evening began with a rundown of the city’s progress in 2022 on a variety of initiatives, which—if you’re up for a little bit of light reading—you can see in its entirety online. 

Some of the highlights brought up in the evening walk-through:

• Reconciliation, inclusion, and engagement

• Sustainable transportation

• Completing work on the homelessness action strategy

• Furthering daycare construction spaces needed: the report cites the building of space examples like təməsew̓txʷ, which is scheduled to open next year

The overall report also includes some stats about some of the things that happened last year.

Coun. Daniel Fontaine noted while there was some great work being done at the city and that there were items to celebrate, he felt the annual report was missing the word ‘card,’ in reference to a report card. Coun. Tasha Henderson said she was getting feedback from staff, and it felt challenging sometimes to actually celebrate them and all the work being done, despite the hardships around staffing.

Coun. Jaimie McEvoy wanted to take a moment to point out how much work the New West Animal Shelter had done caring for 300 animals in 2022.

An ethics commissioner

We appear to be a step closer to bringing an ethics commissioner to the city. Reece Harding—who was BC’s first local government ethics commissioner, as appointed in Surrey—walked mayor and council through the suggested public policy he brought forward.

Some of the concerns brought forward by councillors included the use of a financial donation as a way to make amends (Nakagawa) as well as the scope and definitions of some terms (Fontaine).

Coun. Henderson wanted to know how easy it was to find someone who would make a good ethics commissioner. Harding said that while the position read relatively well for a lawyer or former judge to take the position, that wasn’t necessarily the case, pointing to people with investigative experiences, human resources experience—and that the door was open to anyone who fit the bill. What’s more, Harding said it could also be an option to have more than one person who is in charge of the job.

Should an ethics commissioner be needed before one is appointed, Harding added there are provisions in the current bylaw to make sure that concerns usually handled by an ethics commissioner are addressed.

Public consultation for 422 Sixth St.

What was supposed to be a discussion about the public consultation events pertaining to 422 Sixth St. resulted in council conversation about the Good Neighbour Agreement. Coun. Paul Minhas began by putting three amendments/suggestions forward, which staff stated would be tied to the conditions of the business licence.

All three of Minhas’s suggestions were defeated 5-2, with only Fontaine and Minhas supporting the following suggestions:

• Having 24/7 staffing in place, including a certified security guard with contact info readily available.

• Submitting reports about particular calls to the site, including the frequency of fire and police response.

• Having the business licence of the property reviewed if there are six or more infractions within a 12-month period.

Coun. Fontaine also put forward amendments, which included:

• A request to access information related to conflicts and resolutions pertaining to this site. This was defeated 5-2 with only Fontaine and Minhas supporting.

• Notifying council about fluctuations in service offerings, be they increases or decreases, and within 60 days. This went through an amendment, striking out the 60-day requirement, and was passed—with Fontaine and Minhas opposing the inclusion of the amendment.

• With three infractions of the Good Neighbourhood Agreement in a three-month period, that there be an automatic report to council. This was defeated 5-2 with only Fontaine and Minhas supporting.

During bylaws, 422 Sixth St. was passed for three readings without opposition.

Response regarding dead and/or dying trees on city property

A number of councillors talked about how much overlap there was between the options presented to them, but ultimately they voted—albeit not unanimously—to move ahead with the third option.

On table: heat plan initiatives

This report, according to CAO Lisa Spitale looked at how to help beat the heat in New Westminster: it comes two years after the heat dome claimed more than 600 lives—with New West being hit the hardest. This was an on-table report for endorsement, so The Anchor didn’t have a chance to see this report before the council meeting began.

Some of the suggestions include:

• Cooling supply kits for those who don’t have the appropriate supplies

• Call line for those who do not have access to the internet

• Various outreach and educational programs

• Bringing in air conditioning units for those who are most vulnerable, for instance, seniors

One of the ripple effects of this appears to be reassigning staff, as the work around heat would be accelerated. The staff that would have been working on the e-mobility strategy would likely be reassigned.

This went ahead for endorsement. The next steps will be to go back to the utility commission for further discussion. That information will come back to council at the next regular meeting. That regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 10.

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