city council

P.J. Duncan seated on a dark coloured settee, wearing a yellow t-shirt.

City Council Ward 3 byelection candidate P.J. Duncan on the issues facing Saint John

November 13, 2024 by Iona Coe

Following David Hickey’s win in the Saint John Harbour riding in New Brunswick’s recent provincial election, his seat on St. John city council is now vacant. A number of candidates have put their names forward for the Ward 3 council seat so far, including P.J. Duncan.

Local 107.3FM spoke with Duncan about his reasons for standing in the by-election and what he hopes to bring to the role.

You can reach P.J. Duncan at his campaign page on Facebook.

Local 107.3FM will be reaching out to all the other candidates over the coming days and weeks, in the runup to the by-election, set to take place on December 9th. Information about all the candidates can be found via electionsNB.ca.

A man with curly brown hair and a beard standing in front of a map of Saint John.

City Council Ward 3 byelection candidate Ryan Moore talks about why he is running for office

November 13, 2024 by Iona Coe

After David Hickey’s win in the Saint John Harbour riding in last month’s provincial election, his seat on St. John city council is now vacant. A number of candidates have put their names forward for the Ward 3 position so far, including Ryan Moore.

Local 107.3FM spoke with Moore about his reasons for standing in the by-election and what he hopes to bring to the role.

You can reach Ryan Moore at his website, ryanmooresj.ca.

Mariah Darling seated in a coffee shop, with a bare brick wall behind them

City Council Ward 3 byelection candidate Mariah Darling outlines their priorities

November 12, 2024 by Iona Coe

David Hickey’s success in the provincial election last month, winning the Saint John Harbour riding, means that his seat on the city council has become vacant. A number of candidates have already put their names forward for the Ward 3 councillor position, including Mariah Darling.

Local 107.3FM spoke with Darling in an Uptown coffee shop about their reasons for standing in the by-election and what they hope to bring to the role.

You can reach Mariah Darling through their website, mariahdarling.com.

Fredericton city treasurer Alicia Keating poses for a photo.

Fredericton budget to see decreased inside tax rates, more frequent transit services

November 7, 2024 by Johnny James

Fredericton City Council has agreed, in principle, to a 180-million dollar proposed budget during their last council-in-committee meeting. The budget will go for an official vote on November 25th.

The city saw a 6.98% assessment base increase in property values over the last fiscal year. Just under a third of that was due to new construction, with the remainder due to an increase in market assessment. The increase prompted councillors to propose a two cent decrease in the property tax rate for those residents with full access to city services, from 1.3286 to 1.3086 dollars per $100 in assessed value.

The budget also includes an increase in buses, with high traffic routes during weekday service being increased to every half hour, as well as increases in rates for four-hour parking meters and both hourly and monthly parking rates in the city’s garages and car parks.

Listen to hear more details on the budget as a whole and the impending changes.

New modern industrial waste plant from the outside. Waste-to-energy plant. Produces electricity and heat directly through combustion. Produces a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol and synthetic fuels.

Burnaby City Councillor Alison Gu speaks on the potential of community funding for alternative energy

November 4, 2024 by Danny Nesvaderani

In February of 2024, Burnaby City Councillor Alison Gu passed a motion for the city to look into the feasibility of a community financing model to help fund the Burnaby District Energy Utility project.

The District Energy Utility pans to serve as a municipally owned utility company to establish a district energy system throughout the city. Recently, CJSF was able to speak with Alison Gu about the project and the motion she had passed earlier in 2024.

In the interview, she describes the positive impact of a community financing model alternative energy projects. This would include direct profits for communities that invest in the project, as well as increased education of alternative energy.

A deer in a snowy, dark backyard. A forest at the edge of the lawn.

City Council reveals updates to Ottawa mammal bylaws following coyote killed in April

June 17, 2024 by Vanessa Landriault

During a joint ARAC and Environment and Climate change meeting that took place this morning, Counsellor Laine Johnson asked for clarity on how to deal with wild animals following a wild black bear, moose and coyote that were shot by police in the Ottawa area.

City council revealed that they intend to clarify the 311 instructions on dealing with wild animals and conserving safety among residents. They also talked about a potential grant to the Ottawa Humane Society’s fee of 2023 for helping wild animals.

This and other stories on the 95.7 ELMNT news brief.

Terrace city councillor seeking BC NDP nomination in Skeena Riding

May 7, 2024 by Sabrina Spencer

Sarah Zimmerman, a Terrace city councillor, made the announcement that she is seeking the BC NDP nomination in the Skeena Riding for the upcoming provincial election on May 1 at a gathering of her Family and friends.

Zimmerman spoke with CFNR and says she is excited about the strength of the BC NDP membership and looks forward to the election.

The candidate says she is a strong advocate for affordable childcare, housing, reconciliation through the arts, supporting seniors, and the transformative power of post-secondary education. She emphasizes her understanding of the unique needs and issues of various communities in the riding and highlighted some issues including affordability, healthcare, and senior care.

Zimmerman will continue to serve on the Terrace city council while the nomination process continues.

A big sign that says Alcohol in Parks sits on the grass beside a paved road

Drinking in public parks goes city-wide with council approval

April 22, 2024 by Owen Thompson

The Alcohol in Parks pilot program has been approved by city council to be a full-fledged city-wide program.

The program originally started in August of 2023 and received an extension until April 2024. A report from the City states that the program has been widely well received by citizens. “Just over 53 per cent of Torontonians wanting the ‘Alcohol in Parks’ program to be continued in some form after the end of the pilot,” it says.

There are currently 27 parks which people in are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. The goal is to have at least one park per ward with this designation. The program now has 16 potential parks which have been put forward by councillors to be included in the program.

These include Etobicoke Valley Park in Ward 1, Stan Wadlow Park in Ward 19 and Ashtonbee Reservoir Park in Ward 21.

View of Mission waterfront on the Fraser River from high in the sky. A red metal bridge crosses the river, mountains can be seen in the background. The waterfront area looks largely industrial.

Mission unveils waterfront redevelopment plan, councillor shares vision and challenges

March 26, 2024 by Surjit Atwal

The City of Mission recently published an update to its development plan for an area stretching across 3.5 kilometres of land on the waterfront of the Fraser River.

The city’s website said the waterfront “represents a significant opportunity to establish a positive, meaningful connection with the Fraser River that redefines these underutilized lands as a premier place to live, work and play in a growing region.”

CIVL Radio interviewed Mission City Coun. Danny Plecas to find out more about the future of the development, which was first put forward in 2020.

Plecas discussed how the city council responds to the plan’s opposition, how it will account for the environmental impact of development, and how a new waterfront will benefit Mission economically.

“The plan really is what attracts those investors to come to Mission. We need investment, we need investors to come and work with something, and so we’ve given them a plan to work with and we’ve given them the starting point,” said Plecas.

Mixed reviews from community members on City of Revelstoke logo redesign options

March 15, 2024 by Melissa Jameson

Community feedback on logo redesign options for the City of Revelstoke has been mixed so far, but communications coordinator Francesca Williams says she wants to hear it all.

The city unveiled four logo designs during the Revelstoke Winter Carnival and is asking community members to vote and submit feedback on their favourite design.

Each of the designs incorporates historic and symbolic aspects of Revelstoke. These include a silhouette of Mount Begbie, a bear, and an adaptation of the Revelstoke sign at the former Canadian Pacific Railway Station, which is now home to the Revelstoke Railway Museum.

Williams said a logo redesign is the first step towards improving communication processes for the city.

A close up image of a grey metal sewer grate cover in the middle of an asphalt road. The sewer grate is placed over top of the white road line.

City to lobby province after Ministry of Environment says no to phased approach for wastewater upgrades

March 15, 2024 by Melissa Jameson

The City of Revelstoke plans to lobby the BC government after the Ministry of Environment reneged on a plan to allow the city to upgrade its wastewater management system using a phased approach.

The ministry is now demanding the city meet immediate compliance with municipal wastewater regulations, increasing the project cost from $14 million to $35 million. The city would have met compliance, but not until later in the project.

At its meeting on March 12, council approved a committee of the whole recommendation for Mayor Gary Sulz, director of engineering Steve Black and two council members to travel to Victoria to ask the province for additional funding and/or respect the original intent of the liquid waste management plan.

The city completed its liquid waste management plan two years ago. Once the city reached the design phase of the upgrades, Black said the province appeared to lose interest in allowing the phased approach.

Photo of Abbotsford City Hall, a brown brick building behind a fountain water-feature and green trees.

City council working to open accessibility committee to public consultations

March 11, 2024 by Charles Brockman

City council members and staff recently gathered for the second quarterly meeting of the Accessibility and Equity advisory committee where they voted to open future consultation sessions to the public.

The committee is the result of a provincial mandate laid out in the Accessible British Columbia Act. According to the official committee terms of reference, its purpose is “to advise City Council on how to remove and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the City.”

City Councilor and chairperson Simon Gibson told CIVL Radio his vision for the committee.

“Whatever your situation — mobility or some disability,” said Gibson, “[we hope] that you can access Abbotsford services in a way that is similar to those without disabilities.”

Listen to the complete interview for details of the public consultation sessions and discussion from local policy critic Ross Brown of Abbotsford Policy Corner, who is doubtful of the need for such a committee.