While it might have been the final meeting of this version of city council, there was tons to talk about Monday evening. The meeting played out in front of a full house; at one point some attendees had to stand.

For a full recap take a look at our Twitter thread.

Highlights

Peer Assisted Care Team announced

The council meeting began with news that the Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT) in New Westminster would be led by Purpose Society. Jonny Morris, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association's BC Division, said it was incredible to see the project go from a twinkle in his eye to existence. During questions and discussion, he admitted there wasn’t a time frame to get staff taking calls, though he wanted to see it happen sooner rather than later. Coun. Nadine Nakagawa pointed out the previous goal was to have people answering calls now.

Nakagawa, along with Couns. Jaimie McEvoy and Mary Trentadue, said it was wonderful to be part of the working group getting PACT off the ground. Mayor Jonathan Cote admitted there were frustrations in seeing the project come to life, but was pleased to see it finally happening, noting that when they’d heard of similar projects in North Vancouver and Victoria, council and staff worked to bring PACT here. A motion went ahead to formalize a one-year agreement with Purpose Society to get PACT going.

During open delegations, resident Kevin Lee had a few questions regarding some of the work done in the lead-up to establishing PACT: he wanted to know if neurodivergent people and people from the LGBTQ community were consulted. In response, Nakagawa said both communities were being looked at, and that some of Lee’s other questions regarding PACT could be addressed by staff. McEvoy added he would be happy to go to coffee with Lee to talk about some of the work being done for the neurodivergent portion of PACT.

Report/actions against Indigenous people from 1860 to 1999

Indigenous relations advisor Christina Coolidge presented a draft report to council, looking at how Indigenous people were treated in New Westminster between the years 1860 and 1999. This report was put together by staff at the New Westminster Museum and Archives. The report was guided by three documents:

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action

• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

• The province’s In Plain Sight Report: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care

Coolidge briefly outlined the draft report, including the importance of making sure the city takes a good look at the "truth" part of "truth and reconciliation." While some might want to jump straight into the reconciliation part, Coolidge underscored the value in ensuring people in the city understood how Indigenous people in New West had historically been treated.

The next steps after this report include the city hiring for a coordinator position to support the city’s reconciliation work. An Urban Indigenous Coalition is also being developed. Coolidge is also working through a seven-phase Truth Before Reconciliation Strategy.

Council approved the motion to receive the report for information.

‘Where’s the transparency?’

In between some of the open delegations on the All Ages and Abilities plan (AAA), a man sitting in the back row stood up and yelled “point of order,” calling to Cote. The man wanted to know when there would be a discussion of 311 Louellen St. For-profit group Maintain Recovery was granted a temporary use permit to be able to operate the space, under certain conditions. Such permits are issued for a maximum of three years, and can be extended for an additional three years.

Some of the conditions include providing accommodations for no more than 10 men at a time, and only operating as a temporary residential recovery program.

The man and Cote exchanged comments for about a minute, with the man wanting to know why discussion did not take place. Cote responded by saying there had been discussion. The feedback regarding the permit was included in the agenda package, with the majority of correspondence submitted to the city in favour of the temporary permit. About 10 individuals called for the rejection of the permit, or had follow-up questions regarding the use of the space.

Additionally, the project was posted to the Be Heard New West website, with the latest update explaining that the Sept. 19 meeting in which this would be addressed had been postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Locals were welcome to submit their comments by emailing [email protected], or via regular mail.

Transportation choices in New Westminster

There were about a half-dozen presentations regarding the AAA plan, followed by some discussion around feedback and consultation on the project, though for different reasons.

Coun. Chinu Das wanted to know why the feedback about seniors and mobility was placed in a separate section from some of the other consultation feedback in the report. Staff responded by saying some of the engagement was done through committees, and that there would be more consultation to come. Das had concerns about consultation being done through committees, as she says there aren’t a lot of seniors who attend the meetings.

Coun. Chuck Puchmayr wanted to know what kind of consultation had been done with the business community. Puchmayr stated that based on some of the conversations he’s had with business owners in the Uptown area, that this project seemed to benefit one side. In response, staff said that the point of the engagement was to best understand how to carry out the five-year project.

When the motion was introduced by Coun. Patrick Johnstone in September of last year, it was unanimously supported by council. In early February, the city shared links on social media on at least two occasions that would take those interested in leaving feedback to the aforementioned projects.

Motion to dance

OK, it was a motion to end the meeting, but after councillors took the time to walk down memory lane, they ended things with some pizza and a dance party. Coun. Mary Trentadue immediately began busting a move as someone placed a light on the guest speaker’s desk. The first song played was "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black-Eyed Peas.

There are no scheduled meetings as we head into election season. General voting day will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Editor's note: a previous version of this story noted that Christina Coolidge and Rob McCullough were the were the ones who put the Indigenous persons report together, as mentioned by council. Since the meeting, McCullough, who is the manager of the city's museums and heritage services, has clarified that the report was submitted by himself and Coolidge, but the compilation of information was done by his staff. New West Anchor has since changed the article to reflect McCullough's note.