Active Transportation and Sustainability Committee Makes Recommendations to Next Council

Translate video
To translate this video to French or another language:
  1. Start playing the video
  2. Click CC at bottom right
  3. Click the gear icon to its right
  4. Click Subtitles/CC
  5. Click Auto-translate
  6. Select language you want

Active Transportation and Sustainability Committee Makes Recommendations to Next Council

The Active Transportation and Sustainability Committee started as an Environmental Advisory Committee. However the council recognized the mandate was too vague. But even in its current form it seems not to accomplish what it set out to do. 

During the last The Active Transportation and Sustainability Committee members expressed their disappointment over the council ignoring their recommendations. 

Councilor Keenan Aylwin started the ball rolling on how to effectively influence the council and provide recommendations to the upcoming committee. 

During this week’s meeting, in absence of Aylwin, members leaned on Councillor Ann-Marie Kungl and Committee Support Clerk, Brandie Thompson for advice.

Members identified the lack of funding as one of the main reasons for being unable to implement important activities approved during meetings. 

Kungl said  “some committees have gone to council for funds” and asked if this committee would like to do the same. In the past, the committee got funds from Aylwin’s council account for an event.  

The committee members agreed to make a recommendation to the council to allocate funding during the next term along with adding Electric Vehicle society as a standing member of the committee and adding the name climate change to the committee.

Kelly Patterson McGrath, a member, wants to recommend a new name to the upcoming council - Active Transportation and Climate Action. 

Another member, Wilf Steimle said Sustainability Action Committee would be an appropriate name and transportation can be a subcommittee. 

“I'm a little reluctant to recommend that we specifically use (word) climate change that is a core core part of why we're here. It's part of sustainability. But I wouldn't want the committee to be sort of backed into a corner where all we're doing is climate change initiatives,” he said. “And we're kind of limited on what we can do, for example, with active transportation or food, or any number of other issues that fall under sustainability.”

However, Committee Support Clerk, Brandie Thompson pointed out that the next council will decide whether the committee will exist, or be changed or amalgamated into other committees. 

It is to be seen if the upcoming mayor and council will involve citizens in the fight against climate change.

Comments

We encourage comments which further the dialogue about the stories we post. Comments will be moderated and posted if they follow these guidelines:

  • be respectful
  • substantiate your opinion
  • do not violate Canadian laws including but not limited to libel and slander, copyright
  • do not post hateful and abusive commentary or any comment which demeans or disrespects others.

The Community Media Portal reserves the right to reject any comments which do not adhere to these minimum standards.

Add new comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
Video Upload Date: September 8, 2022

Barrie Community Media is a community-run news site operating out of downtown Barrie. 

BCM began in 2020, with the goal of elevating community voices and conversations; empowering people to share their stories and engage with their local representatives.   

Our coverage focuses on Barrie's City Hall and downtown, highlighting key conversations through long-form interviews and more. 

We're always seeking to diversify our coverage and bring more perspectives to the table. 

 

Help us shape the future of community news in Barrie: 

Visit us online at barriecommunitymedia.ca to find out more and volunteer.

 

Ontario
-
Simcoe County

Recent Media