Do you want to share your thoughts about assorted topics with city council? If so, the Community Advisory Assembly may be the place for you.
The City of New Westminster is holding a virtual information session for residents who may be interested in applying to serve on its new Community Advisory Assembly. The assembly, which is set to launch in early 2024, is designed to provide residents with a platform to collaborate with fellow community members and advise city council and staff on matters related to council’s strategic priorities, as well as key city projects, plans and policies.
“The Community Advisory Assembly is a new approach to traditional advisory committees,” said Coun. Patrick Johnstone. “What makes it different is that the group will more accurately reflect New Westminster’s demographics, and the assembly will offer advice to the city on a variety of topics.”
A virtual information session is taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. Residents who are interested in taking part should email [email protected] to register.
Applications for the Community Advisory Assembly are being accepted until Tuesday, Oct. 31
“The membership will consist of approximately 36 residents who will be selected to mirror the city's overall demographic profile. For example, this means roughly 50 per cent of the members will be renters, and about six members will be age 19 and under,” said a news release. “The assembly is focused on fostering open dialogue, informed deliberation, sharing diverse perspectives, and also finding common ground.”
A staff report stated residents must be willing to attend 10 meetings a year, one every month except for July and August, and a kick-off dinner with council to launch the new group. It’s expected that each in-person-only meeting will run for three to four hour.
“The Community Advisory Assembly will enable deeper engagement through lengthier discussion, and the feedback provided will better reflect the needs of the community overall because members will be encouraged to reach a consensus on what advice they will deliver to council and staff,” said Jennifer Miller, the city’s manager of public engagement.
All New Westminster residents are encouraged to apply to serve on the assembly. A variety of supports are available to make participation easier, including reimbursement of any direct expenses, stipends for childcare/elder care, and compensation for low-income members or those who must miss paid work to attend meetings.
Why form a Community Advisory Assembly?
After being elected in the October 2022 civic election, council members began working on their strategic plan, which maps out council’s priorities for its four-year term. As part of the strategic planning process, council asked staff to explore potential changes to the city’s advisory committee structure.
After exploring a number of potential options, staff proposed a citizens assembly model, which aims to reflect the city’s demographic makeup and be highly participatory.
In May, Miller told council a citizens assembly model is often struck to consider one main topic and disband, but the New Westminster group would look at a range of topics. It’s anticipated the Community Advisory Assembly pilot project will operate for about one year.
In a report to council, staff stated the Community Advisory Assembly would discuss assorted topics, including current city projects that are expected to directly affect the day-to-day lives of New West residents. Examples of issues to be considered by the group include: council’s strategic priorities (community belonging, housing, transportation, economy and infrastructure); the process to develop a new city logo; and the parks and recreation comprehensive plan.
“Advisory committee members, city staff, and council have all shared feedback that the city’s traditional advisory committee structure was not entirely satisfactory and could be improved to better meet the needs of participants and the city,” said a report to council. “Committee members, in particular, shared that they want to be able to provide the city with more meaningful input into projects, earlier in their development, and that they want to be able to see if and how their input influenced the outcome of the project.”
At its Aug. 28 meeting, council voted 5-2 in favour of endorsing the draft terms of reference for the Community Advisory Assembly.
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa said she is “really excited” to see the assembly moving forward. She hopes people with disabilities will be among the assembly’s membership, as that’s essential to the work the city is doing right now.
Miller said the people who will serve on the assembly will have “multiple identities” and bring multiple perspectives to the table. As an example, she noted that in order to be reflective of the community, half of the assembly’s members should be renters – and those people would also represent different age groups, gender identities, lived experiences, income levels and cultural backgrounds.
The terms of reference state the assembly will mirror the overall demographic profile of the city, based on the following characteristics: geographic area of the city (neighbourhood); gender identity; age group; housing tenure (i.e. renter or owner); visible minority; and Indigenous identity. In addition to these characteristics, a diversity of lived experiences will be sought, including newcomers to Canada, people with disabilities, people with low incomes, etc.
Miller told council the city is doing “targeted outreach” as part of its recruitment efforts. She’s confident the city will be able to establish the group as outlined in its terms of reference.
In a 5-2 vote, council approved the terms of reference, with New West Progressive councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas voting in opposition.
“I don't think it'll come as any surprise to council that I'm not as enthused about this as Coun. Nakagawa is,” Fontaine said at the Aug. 28 meeting. “I have some concerns about the model, a lot of concerns about it.”
Fontaine said city council has been in place for a year, and the Citizens Assembly model isn’t complete and won’t begin its work until early in 2024. He expressed concern that if the pilot “fails” and doesn’t work as the city hopes, that won’t be known until sometime in 2025.
“Council will be actively involved in the evaluation process,” Miller said. “And so, I don't think it's a wait and see. Our vision is that council will be involved in the assembly as well, and that there will be regular check-ins with council from assembly members. So it's not a ‘we're leaving and coming back in a year or 14 months’ – this will be a process that you are actively involved in.”
