Duguay to seek one of 16 Ontario places on board
Councillor wants spot on Federation of Canadian Municipalities
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is an Ottawabased advocacy group representing more than 2,000 Canadian municipalities big and small
When Coun. Kevin Duguay goes to Calgary in June to run for a seat on the board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), he’ll be vying for one of 16 seats for Ontario directors on a board of 74 representatives from across Canada.
FCM is an Ottawa-based advocacy group representing more than 2,000 Canadian municipalities big and small.
FCM states that its role is to be “the national voice of municipal governments,” which it does by commenting publicly on the federal government’s policies, for example.
FCM also administers several programs, including the $1.6-billion Green Municipal Fund. While this program is funded by the federal government, FCM manages the applications.
To run for a seat on the FCM board, nominees need a resolution from their municipal councils endorsing the bid (which Duguay received at a council meeting on Monday).
FCM divides its 74 directors among all Canadian provinces and territories, and representatives from each province and territory vote for its own board members (this year at the annual general meeting in Calgary, June 6-9).
Of the 16 Ontario director seats, nine will be filled by election on June 9. As of this week, there were eight Ontario nominees on the FCM website vying for those nine seats (the list didn’t yet include Duguay).
Of the eight Ontario nominees on the list, as of this week, six are current FCM board members seeking re-election.
After nine nominees are elected, there are seven remaining board seats for Ontario. These seven board members are selected this way:
■ One is chosen by Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
■ One is chosen by a majority vote
of the chairs of the six regional municipalities in Ontario (i.e.: Niagara, Halton, Waterloo, Peel, York and Durham).
■ One is chosen by vote among FCM member cities that range in population between one million and two million people.
■ Two are chosen by vote among FCM member cities that have a population exceeding two million people.
At a committee meeting April 22, Duguay said he took an interest in running for FCM after meeting an FCM board member lately (whom he did not name) who’d encouraged him to run, saying his experience as a professional land-use planner would be helpful.
Duguay attended a funding announcement in February, where the city received $8.6 million in loans and grants from the Green Municipal Fund for a new home retrofit program.
The announcement was attended by Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.
It was also attended by Brampton Coun. Rowena Santos, a current FCM board member. Santos will be seeking reelection to the FCM board in June.