North Bay city councillor wants city to switch to a ward system
Looking ahead to the 2026 municipal election, North Bay city councillor Jamie Lowery wants to change the way municipal politicians are elected.
Currently, the city elects councillor-at-large, with the 10 candidates who receive the most votes declared elected to council.
Lowery favours a ward system, where councillors would run to represent specific parts of the city.
"One of the biggest attractions for me is accountability," said Lowery.
"You're in your ward and people know who their councillor is."
He has a motion on the table for the next city council meeting to have city staff research the idea of establishing a ward system and then bring back a detailed report to council for further discussion.
"I want to know what's involved. Do we need provincial approval? What's the cost? What's the process to get there? Is it the most effective model?" said Lowery.
The motion would also look at ways of reducing the current number of councillors from 10 to six and a mayor by creating separate wards.
Lowery said he’d like to get a better idea of how difficult such a transition would be.
"Let's listen to what the process is,” he said.
“Let's take all the information in and make an educated decision on whether this is right for North Bay.”
Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins all currently have ward systems. It has never been implemented in North Bay, not even when the former townships of West Ferris and Widdifield amalgamated in 1968.
But councillor Tanya Vrebosch said is not a fan of the ward system.
"We're too small. We'd be pitting West Ferris against the east end versus Widdifield," Vrebosch said.
She said it would take away a councillor's role of representing all taxpayers when it comes to voting on important decisions.
"If your ward councillor doesn't agree with you, you don't have all the councillors to go to advocate on your behalf," Vrebosch said.
"We should have equal representation across the city."
Council will vote on the motion Tuesday night.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
The federal minimum wage is going up in April. Here's what you need to know
The federal minimum wage is set to increase next month. Here's what you need to know.