‘Most diverse council in the history of the city’ sworn in
New Peterborough mayor says new council is ‘best of the city’ and ‘simply outstanding’
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien praised the other 10 members of the new city council at their swearing-in on Monday evening, saying they represent the “best of the city.”
“This new council is simply outstanding. It is the most diverse council in the history of the city of Peterborough in many ways,” Therrien said in her remarks to a packed auditorium at the Peterborough Public Library.
The new council has people with fresh new ideas as well as seasoned councillors, she said, and there are entrepreneurs, advocates, community workers among them.
“It seems to me they represent the very best of the city,” Therrien said.
The new council was elected Oct. 22; the new term of council officially takes effect
Dec. 1 and will last until the next municipal election in 2022.
The swearing-in typically takes place at City Hall the same evening as the first meeting of council – but not this time.
Councillors were sworn in at the Peterborough Public Library on Aylmer St., where the auditorium can accommodate many more people than council chambers can hold.
Monday’s gathering took place solely for the purpose of the swearing-in – no other council business took place.
The first meeting of council – a general committee meeting, council and budget meeting all rolled into one – will happen at City Hall on Dec. 3.
The auditorium was so full on Monday that many city staff members were standing. At least two former mayors were there: Sylvia Sutherland and Paul Ayotte.
The gathering began with an Indigenous land acknowledgement and remarks from Hiawatha First Nation Chief Laurie Carr.
She noted that it was a first for the city: last term of city council never had a land acknowledgement.
Carr also asked council to consider the effect of every one of their decisions on the area’s land and water, and she also said she
looks forward to “building a positive relationship” with city council.
Therrien said she also looks forward to working toward reconciliation with the First Nations, and to forging relationships with those living on area reserves and those members “who live here in Nogojiwanong”.
Therrien also mentioned that voters wanted change, in the recent municipal election: they wanted more transparency and civic engagement.
“Well today, that process begins,” the mayor said. “We will have an open and accessible city government – not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the smart thing to do.”
That’s going to mean working closely with MPP Dave Smith and with MP Maryam Monsef on current challenges, she said, but it will also mean consulting the public and asking citizens to get involved.
Therrien said she’s developing a new environmental advisory committee, for instance, as well as another for the promotion of civic engagement.
She encouraged citizens to apply to sit on these committee as a way of making a “direct and tangible contribution” to the community.
In terms of council business, Therrien said her first priority will be the overhaul of the city’s Official Plan, the blueprint that will guide development for years to come.