Dealing with the Real Issues at Thunder Bay City Council

 

Thunder Bay City Council has a packed agenda this week but among all the items there is not one mention of the crucial issue now affecting close to 3000 residents in the city – the issue of the continued plague of leaky pipes and resulting damage to homes and businesses.  Compounding all that has been happening on this front,  is that there are increasing reports of heavier chlorine smells in city tap water.  There is no point in asking your City Councillor why that is as they have probably been advised by the City’s lawyers not to talk about anything related to water.  So, as usual we are left having to surmise what is going on and my educated guess is that there have been so many line breaks and repairs in the city water system that they have upped the disinfecting of the water to prevent potential contaminants from getting in to the water.  We are fortunate that Thunder Bay's Mayor and council is not responsible for information updates on the local COVID-19 situation given their stoic reticence on issues affecting public health and welfare.

 

However, the City does not want to talk about water so we will have to focus on other issues in their hefty agenda this week.  Among the pressing issues on the Monday evening agenda are: waterfront trail development, an update on protective shields for transit drivers, and advocacy for a federal basic income program. Of these, having the City advocate for a federal basic income program is the one where Thunder Bay City Councillors have the most expertise.  After all, Thunder Bay has been running a basic income program for the members of Thunder Bay City Council since 1970 and we are still evaluating the value for money of the program given the annual spending on a mayor and twelve councilors. So I suspect that several hours will be devoted to discussing basic income and there will be many eloquent words on the need to alleviate suffering and hardship that is not related to the provision of basic municipal water and sewer infrastructure.

 

The more interesting item later this week will be the discussion of responses to the Grant Thorton Program Review that will be provided to council by City Administration.  Unfortunately, given that Superior North EMS and the TB Fire Rescue are undergoing their own separate strategic planning processes, they are not included in the report which seems paradoxical given that it is a systematic review of the entire city’s operations.  One could ask either the Mayor or the councilors about this but they have probably been advised by their lawyers not to respond. 

 

The responses from administration have been divided into implement, further review and no further action.  The most interesting items in this report are the further review because they contain some of the most contentious and larger ticket cost items and include: discontinuing private child care, moving city run Pioneer Ridge to an alternative model of care, the sale or closure of the Jumbo Gardens Community Centre, Vale Community Centre and Boulevard Lake Beach, “service adjustments” (which one suspects is adminspeak for reductions) for Chippewa Park and the Canada Games Complex, the closure of both remaining city owned golf courses and finally, water and sewer operations.   

 

The last item in particular is understandable as still under review as there has probably been advice from lawyers to the city of Thunder Bay not to deal with any water and sewer issues publicly.  Indeed, one suspects the Mayor and Council would probably be most  happy if their lawyers would advise them not to discuss or answer any questions at all about anything in the program review.

 

The meetings tonight and later this week will feature a lot of talk and posturing but in the end little of substance will transpire in the public sessions.  

 

 

More Information Is Better: Too Bad Politicians Seem to Have a Double Standard

 

Several days ago, a member of Thunder Bay City council raised the issue of asking the Thunder Bay District Health Unit for a more detailed breakdown of location when it came to the reporting of COVID-19 cases.  In particular, the councilor in question wanted the numbers and cases just for Thunder Bay alone reported separate from its surrounding communities given that with a population of 109,000, there was no real way of ascertaining identities and he felt it would be helpful for residents to know.  While one might be tempted to conclude it was simply a slow evening at City Council, in fact this has become more of an issue in recent days given the spike in cases.

 

The councilor in question has a point.  At present, the TBDHU provides only the broadest of descriptions of where individuals reside and the circumstances around the exposure.  At the same time, the TBDHU has actually been announcing specific locations associated with outbreaks within the region when necessary – a case in point this week as 17 COVID-19 cases were connected to the Adult Teen and Challenge facilities in Thunder Bay. However, a breakdown of location to Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay Surrounding Area, District Communities and First Nation Communities does not appear to be a violation of privacy laws.  Moreover, when travel is mentioned as a source of the infection, it would be helpful to know if it was travel within northern Ontario, travel outside northern Ontario but within the province of Ontario, inter-provincial travel or international travel.

 

While the councilor’s call for more information is laudable, he is in some respects being inconsistent - to say the least.  After all, along with the COVID-19 pandemic underway, Thunder Bay is also experiencing a pandemic of plumbing and water line leaks which may be linked to the introduction of sodium hydroxide into city water in 2016 to mitigate lead.  Despite numerous pleas for assistance and information, the City of Thunder Bay has provided no information as to the extent of the problem, how many homes have been affected, or what neighborhoods are most affected.  Such information might help homeowners know if they are at greater risk of leaks than others and take mitigating steps but instead, we are all being left to social media to acquire information.  If the City of Thunder Bay was managing COVID-19 information in this manner, more people would die.

 

If the Thunder Bay District Health Unit in the face of mounting cases of infection refused to provide any information whatsoever, it would be seen as irresponsible and contributing to the spread of the disease and its mortality and morbidity.  However, in the case of pinhole leaks in Thunder Bay, the City is collecting information and shares nothing.  The councilor who raised the issue of more information from the District Health Unit has a double standard.  What is good for the goose is good for the gander and he should advocate for the people paying the taxes that support his role as a councilor.