Councillor Kathy Bedard received full support from mayor and council for her request for an informational meeting with input from agencies and organizations in the community that are tackling social issues.
“I think we need to be better informed so we can take the true picture of our community when we’re going to the Union of B.C. Municipalities so that we’re telling the story from an informed mind,” Bedard said.
Her request was echoed by Councillor Gina Garon who agreed she’d also appreciate a workshop.
“Most people aren’t aware of what services are available. I didn’t know until I started volunteering for the breakfast at our church. There are a lot of different agencies out there and some are overlapping,” Garon said.
Councillor Joy Thorkelson has been thinking along the same wave length and said she’s very concerned. She’s been wondering what kind of support is necessary from the City’s point of view.
She referenced a recent newspaper interview with Captain Gary Sheils of the Salvation Army saying the number of families using the food bank in Prince Rupert is up again.
Thorkelson also said Social Services is sending large numbers of people to the Unemployment Action Centre which does income tax returns for free.
“They have to get a refund because Social Services claws back their income tax refund and doesn’t issue them welfare for that month depending on how much they get back on their return,” Thorkelson said.
“We should be having discussions to help alleviate poverty in this town. It’s prime time to give input to the federal government,” she added.
Councillor Sheila Gordon-Payne suggested that key people of influence, that could affect change or input, be invited to the presentation.
“Otherwise I’m not sure what it does if it becomes a vehicle that is driven by information that is received second or third hand. We know we don’t have any money so we try and use our influence. I think we could invite people to come and hear the same message, whether that’s people that are running for election or whether that’s people that are working for other services. As listeners, not as participants,” Gordon-Payne emphasized.
Councillor Bedard responded that she was hesitant to put people on the spot or in a conflict of interest that might shut down the conversation.
But Mayor Jack Mussallem said the more people that hear all the information the better.
“They are the ones that can solve it, we can’t solve it. I prefer not to accentuate something because there can be no resolve and a couple of ministries are deadlocked. It’s good that they hear about everything because sometimes we’ll go on about something at the UBCM and take it to a ministry and then learn there’s a whole bigger picture we aren’t aware of,” Mussallem said.