THUNDER BAY DISTRICT UNINCORPORATED
RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
(TBDURA)
RR # 1
www.tbdura.com
31 October 2007
Mayor Anne Krassilowsky, President
P8N 2A7
Dear Mayor Krassilowsky;
The Thunder Bay District Unincorporated Ratepayers Association recently received copies of correspondence between Mr. Bill Blower of DoKURA (Dist. of Kenora Unincorporated Ratepayers Association) and Mr. Ian Angus, Chair of your Common Voice Initiative committee. We thought it would be useful to send you our position on the Common Voice Initiative as it presently stands.
In general we agree with Mr. Blower that at this point in time, the Common Voice Initiative certainly does not represent any views of the unincorporated areas of the two districts. This is the first we have heard of it. The purpose of the organization seems to be to act as a lobby group to the provincial government. With the proposed organizational chart weighted toward the municipal delegates, and considering that it is the creation of NOMA, we have serious reservations as to whether this ‘common voice’ will end up being essentially a ‘municipal voice’.
We have concerns about the financial end as well. At 15 cents per head, the municipalities have
apparently agreed to provide an annual budget of around $30,000.00. Already there are plans for an additional
$115,000.00 in grant money. Consultants
will be hired; employees will be needed.
Why? In an era of cheap phone
service and e-mails, ideas can be exchanged for next to nothing.
We would be interested in hearing why one municipality in
NOMA has refused to participate. We
would also agree with Mr. Blower that with 70,000 ratepayers, our two groups
represent the second largest group in the two districts. We don’t believe the Common Voice Initiative
can credibly claim to represent north-western
We look forward to discussing this further with NOMA before making any decisions on the matter.
Sincerely,
Fred Mueller for TBDURA
Kenora opts out of Common Voice
initiative
Tb News Source
Web Posted: 12/11/2007 7:57:57 PM
The city of
The plan was adopted in April by the Northwestern Ontario Municipal
Association with the aim of creating a unified voice to address regional
challenges. But now the second largest city in the region says it won't help
fund the proposal and money is not the problem.
Kenora's Council unanimously feels that the common
voice proposal is 'doomed to failure' because they say First Nations are not
full partners at the table. Grand Council Treaty 3 Chief, Arnold Gardner,
expressed his support for Kenora's position again
this week.
Refusing to join may undermine the strength of the Common Voice, but Kenora also faces losing its membership in NOMA and the Kenora District Municipal Association.
So will the common voice initiative carry on without the city of
Kenora councillor Rory McMillan
says councillors in Kenora
remain hopeful that NOMA will address the partnership with First Nations before
the end of the month, otherwise they'll just assume
they are no longer members of either group.
Kenora Mayor Len Compton read a statement at his
city's council meeting last week that had nothing new in it but it did lay out
the city's position on the matter. They will not be paying the additional levy
to NOMA that is meant to fund the initiative.
The levy is due at the end of the month and is based on a per capita basis
and Kenora would pay less than $5,000 a year towards
the initiative. It they don't pay the additional charge the city stands to lose
its membership in NOMA and the Kenora District
Municipal Association as early as January.
McMillan says representatives are well aware of the position it would put them in but the money isn't the sticking point for Kenora councillors.