Inaugural council meetings usually pass with little debate, but Monday’s inaugural meeting in New West wasn’t one of those nights.
The inaugural meeting included the oaths of office for mayor and council, the appointments and oaths of council members who will serve on the parcel tax roll review panel, the appointment of acting mayors for the coming year and some motions related to some of the city’s advisory committees. Those items approved with no discussion – as is usually the case at inaugural meetings – but that wasn’t the case with council’s appointment of a director and alternate to the Metro Vancouver board of directors.
The meeting’s agenda included a motion to appoint Mayor Patrick Johnstone as the city’s director to the Metro Vancouver Regional District board. Newly elected Coun. Paul Minhas, however, put forward an amendment that new councillor Daniel Fontaine, who is Metis, be the city’s representative to the board.
“While the swearing in ceremony is normally just a ceremonial affair, tonight, we have the opportunity to make history,” Minhas said. “On Oct. 15 we elected the first Indigenous city councillor for the City of New Westminster. Our city was incorporated in 1860, and as far as I know, up until the recent civic election, we have never had an identified Indigenous person who has run for council and got elected.”
Minhas said he realizes that the tradition is for the mayor to represent the city at the regional government, but he said council is open to breaking tradition, citing its decision to get rid of the Royal City moniker as part of the city’s official branding.
Not only is Fontaine a citizen of the Metis nation, but he also has experiences that would make him “incredibly qualified” to represent New Westminster on the Metro Vancouver board, Minhas said of his fellow New West Progressives’ candidate.
“An amendment that would make history and an amendment that would bring to life, all of our commitments to truth and reconciliation,” he said of his motion.
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa said it’s important that New Westminster’s newly elected mayor represents the city at Metro Vancouver.
“We need to ensure that the voice of New Westminster is strongly represented at the Metro board,” she said. “And, as somebody who is a strong supporter of representation, and an advocate for representation, I would also say that there's a difference between descriptive and substantive representation. And we need to make sure that that distinction is clear.”
Only Fontaine and Minhas supported the amendment, with other council members voting to appoint Johnstone to the regional board.
Fontaine is one of four first-time candidates elected to council in the Oct. 15 civic election.
“What I have heard in this chamber are some very beautiful words that have been spoken, and also in the recent campaign, regarding the need for truth and reconciliation, words that were spoken about how we need to encourage more Indigenous people to put their names forward for public office or for them to get elected,” Fontaine said. “Well, this evening, to my council colleagues, you have an opportunity to put truth to those words.”
A similar voting scenario unfolded when it came time to appoint Nakagawa, a second-term councillor, as the city’s alternate to the Metro Vancouver Regional District board.
Minhas, who said he was “disappointed” that council chose not to send Fontaine as its representative to the regional board, put forward an amendment that Fontaine be the city’s alternate. It too was defeated.
Coun. Jaimie McEvoy, who is serving his fifth term on council and is the now the longest-serving council member, said the recent election showed that citizens wanted some diversity of representation at the council table, including of opinion, but it also showed that they supportive of the general direction of council. He said Johnstone and Nakagawa will reflect the city’s views on issues such as climate change, housing, regional parks in New Westminster at the regional board.
“They have the background, the knowledge, but also the trust of the citizens of this city and reflect that general direction of council,” he said. “This is an unusual council. It's the first council I've sat on in five terms where the majority of the councillors are new. I won't disparage any newness, but it does take some time to learn the issues and to be familiar with, from the New Westminster perspective.”
The inaugural meeting marked the first time all of the councillors gathered together in council chambers. Johnstone, McEvoy and Nakagawa are returning to council, while Fontaine, Minhas, Tasha Henderson and Ruby Campbell are newly elected.
“It will take some time for us as a council to get to know each other, to understand each other, and to really have a clear understanding of how that is reflected outside of this council table to the region,” McEvoy said.
McEvoy said he firmly believes in Indigenous representation.
“The direction that Metro Vancouver has taken on indigenous representation is for Indigenous people to represent themselves,” he said. “So, the Tsawwassen First Nation has a seat at the table. There is in fact Indigenous representation at the table, which I think itself indicates the importance of being familiar with the organization before stepping in.”
