held Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Waverley Resource Library
Candidates attending: Andrew Foulds and Stephane Kuziora (Current River Ward); Albert Aiello and Brian Phillips (McIntyre Ward).
Format
The question list was shared with all candidates in advance. Candidates did not know which question they would be asked. Each candidate answered one question per round, with two minutes per answer. Answers below are transcribed from the recording of the event and are presented as spoken, lightly edited for readability: obvious transcription errors are corrected, and repeated words and false starts have been removed. No words have been added and no answer has been shortened or reordered beyond that. Where a word could not be made out on the recording it is marked [unclear].
Opening statements
Brian Phillips
Hi, everybody. My name is Brian Phillips, and I'm a resident of Thunder Bay, born and bred here, 60 years. Looking forward to serving in the McIntyre Ward and on the city as a whole. If I'm elected, I will work my butt off to bring forth change, growth, and positive ventures to the city. I look forward to working with the fellow councilors as a team, working together to build Thunder Bay and make it a positive place to be again or still. Thank you.
Albert Aiello
My name is Albert Aiello, and I'm seeking my third term as the McIntyre Board Counselor. I too am born and bred here in Thunder Bay. I have a 37 year career working in public service, particularly running boys and girls clubs here in Thunder Bay. The city has experienced some very, very exciting times right now with some growth that we can actually see, feel, and touch. It's very exciting. What I can promise is again just continued dedication and commitment to the city of Thunder Bay, to the residents of the McIntyre Ward, and in responding to emails, questions, phone calls, it's very important that people are heard and people have their issues attended. Thank you.
Stephane Kuziora
Hi, I'm Stephane Leonard Kuziora, born in Thunder Bay. I went to St. Ignatius High School, studied chemical engineering at Lakehead University, and then after that, I went and studied abroad in Norway for a master's and PhD. Came back to Thunder Bay, and I bring kind of that foreign experience and that high degree of education, in particular analytical thinking, scientific thinking, and in general, I like to think I have fresh ideas, and I like to approach things with a very thoughtful leadership approach.
Andrew Foulds
Good evening. My name is Andrew Foulds, and I'm running for re-election because I care deeply about Current River and the City of Thunder Bay. This community has given me and my family so much, and I remain committed to doing the hard work necessary to make the city stronger, safer, and more affordable. Over the years, we have achieved a great deal. We have invested in critical infrastructure that has helped position the city for the future. But frankly, the work continues. Families are feeling the pressures of rising costs, but we must continue to invest in our families, in our infrastructure, and in community safety. We must budget responsibly, and every dollar the city spends must deliver value. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, but now more than ever, the city needs stability and trust in leadership. Our challenges need practical solutions, experience, leadership, and integrity. I am asking for your support on October 26.
Question 1: Thunder Bay Police have been vocal that we cannot police our way out of crime and social disorder. Rather, we need upstream investments, community-building initiatives, and pro-social infrastructure like libraries to address root causes. Can you describe in some detail what that looks like to you, and your vision for proactive upstream investments that the municipality can undertake?
Brian Phillips
I agree with the police. We do need more police in the city, the city is growing at a rapid rate. I don't think there's enough police services right now, and we should look at putting more money towards police services. We also should put more money towards programs that would help occupy people, give them more social activities to do, basically to stay out of trouble. Work with individuals, better programming. Get to the bottom of the problem or the root of the problem to begin with, and work alongside the Thunder Bay police forces and the Associated people involved, so to speak, to make things better here.
Question 2: Some see a tension between supporting downtown revitalization and championing local business on the one hand, while at the same time encouraging the growth of big box stores and suburban sprawl. How would you address those concerns, and where do you think City resources should be focused when planning for growth?
Albert Aiello
Thank you for that question. With the present smart growth plan, it encompasses all those areas. Exactly everything that you've talked about. I think it's really important for us as a council to keep the course. Like I said earlier in my introduction, we're finally seeing growth on a daily basis, you see construction happening, you see people coming to the community. There's an increase in traffic. Do you just notice it? So we should keep the course. There's lots of investments already been provided in the downtown cores. If you look at Victoria Avenue, Simpson Street, Cork Street, Red River, and Cumberland. A lot of investment has been put there again to ensure the small businesses can well continue to survive. And again, lots have been done in regards to walkability, so that people are walking and spending more time in these core areas, and that's investment that the city has made to ensure those areas are cores continue to do well and to grow, like Costco's and future development areas. Again, when you have all these big box stores? That's a healthy community. A smart growth plan again contains all these things. It's not one specific sector. It's just a mixture of things that help create and make the city a better place. Big box stores, little business-they can coexist, and the investments that we've made already and continue to make will ensure that continues to move forward.
Question 3: Would you support a mayor using strong mayor powers, authority that lets a mayor push through certain decisions without needing full Council approval, and if so, under what conditions?
Stephane Kuziora
Yeah. So I am generally in support of strong mayor powers, but under specific circumstances, and what those circumstances are basically when the mayor has this general support of the population of Thunder Bay, and more or less if that can be shown in a real demonstratable way, then I'm fine with the mayor superseding what the council, Thunder Bay City Council, is blocking the mayor on. Otherwise, the mayor should have to work with the council, negotiate, find common ground. Municipal government fundamentally is a collaborative process, and strong mayor powers should not become a substitute for building a consensus among the council when reasonably possible, but under the circumstances where the council is just being aggressively blocking towards the mayor, and the mayor still can show that he has the will of the people, I think that's fair for the mayor to execute strong mayor powers.
Question 4: Indigenous residents of Thunder Bay are an important part of our future. They represent a major source of new entrepreneurs, business owners, and workers, as well as bringing valuable cultural and social benefits to our community. How would you ensure that Thunder Bay becomes a major hub for Indigenous-led economic growth?
Andrew Foulds
Thanks for the question. I'm actually going to start my comments by recognizing a couple of people in the audience. We have a councilor that is retiring. I want to recognize Councillor Pasqualino that's here. I also want to recognize Thunder Bay Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois, who's here. I also want to recognize that there are a number of candidates in the audience this evening, and I hope you get a chance to visit with them. Boy, I was wishing I was going to get the strong mayors question because this is a clear difference between us. I am absolutely not in favor of the strong mayor powers because it is authoritarian and it removes democracy. Your vote matters. Who you elect matters. And so there are 13 people that are elected, and well, two of us will be elected. Their vote matters. It shouldn't be one person waving a wand to make a decision. With that said, that's not my question. My question is on this very crucial question, and I guess I want to point out a couple of things. The city of Thunder Bay has actually moved the needle, in my opinion, when it comes to building a more inclusive community. But boy, we've got a lot of work to do. There was a first question about the police services. I'd like to make mention that Malcolm Mercer made several recommendations about becoming more transparent, more accountable, and building partnerships-a must. The city is doing the same. Much work has to be done. Partnerships with Fort William First Nation, partnerships with NAN. But here is the real secret: education. When young people come here, they need to feel welcome. They need to feel included. They need to feel part of a culture where it's celebrated and recognized. So, when it comes to businesses, fastest growing middle class, indigenous. We need to make sure that we have incentives, the framework, the zoning that encourages people and make this community feel like it's theirs, that they're contributing and making a difference. The option of doing nothing is not there. We have lots of work to do. I want to be a part of doing that work.
Question 5: Studies show that walkable neighbourhoods are better for small local businesses, but many new developments in Thunder Bay have favoured big box stores with large parking lots instead. Would you support redesigning City planning rules to encourage smaller, locally owned businesses over large corporate chains?
Brian Phillips
Thank you. Yes, it has to go about being equal and fair growth for both areas, the city as a whole, and for the neighborhoods, the walkable neighborhoods. It's a plan of progress. It needs substantial work to make it work. Redesigning areas would help. Certainly, small businesses are the key and the future in the backbone of the cities. The larger, big boxed areas can come and go from time to time, but it's the smaller guys that support the growth of the city, and they should be treated equal and fair as well.
Question 6: Public safety affects everyone, and local business is most sensitive to crime and disorder. What strategies or funding would you create to help address safety in our downtown areas?
Albert Aiello
Thanks for the question. So, just understanding crime and disorders really-it's a police issue, and the authority falls upon them. The city has, with police, obviously have initiated several pilot projects that you know we are not waiting on program evaluations for, but we did have city policing in both downtown cores, and we also had a pilot project where we had security on city transits going back and forth to help reduce the issues that occurred on our city transit. Like I said, we are awaiting evaluations on those. I am a huge proponent of community policing. I've seen it work in three different areas of the city in which I was involved, and it does make a difference. Presence is a huge deterrent. So the more presence that we have, in keeping with yes, of course we need more police services and stuff, but it's very, very more police officers, boots on the ground for sure. But presence is a key to success in any program. We just got a an email today regarding it's just an update that Chief Fleury gives council and the general public. It's open for release. Just a number of calls they get in the downtown cores again. What they deal with on a day to day basis. They are overworked. They have a lot of mental health issues and those types of things. Where again, we need professional people. So those types of concerns also need to be looked at. And again, it's going to require funding from different levels of government for us to make a difference. We lack a facility where people in the law or involved in the law can be taken to receive care and services. Thank you.
Question 7: Many community groups have called on the City to invest in an ever-increasing list of services, including new sports facilities, entertainment venues, arts and culture opportunities, and more. These often come with large price tags and debt obligations that the City may bear for years. What responsibility does municipal government have in improving quality of life beyond delivering basic municipal services?
Stephane Kuziora
The city does have a role in providing services that improve quality of life beyond the most basic municipal functionalities. However, the benefits of new sports facilities, entertainment venues, cultural programs, and similar initiatives can be difficult to measure, while their costs can continue and linger on for decades. That means we need to be methodical about adding programs or facilities. A project is not just upfront construction cost. It's every facility or service creates an ongoing obligation for taxpayers through staffing, maintenance, operations, and future replacement fees costs. I'm willing to say no when the budget cannot reasonably support something. I believe communities can provide many things collectively, but those services have to remain within the taxation base that supports them before taking on new long-term obligation. Council should be able to demonstrate that the benefit justifies the ongoing cost.
Question 8: Many in the community believe that taxes are too high, and historically the rate of tax increases has outpaced inflation. Can you articulate a strategy for how the City should spend and invest that recognizes the increasing cost of taxes as a barrier to living and doing business in Thunder Bay?
Andrew Foulds
What a great question! I think we probably can all agree in this room that none of us are particularly happy about paying taxes. We probably can agree on that, but we also probably can agree that we enjoy many of the public services that our taxes deliver. Things like we just talked about police services. We've just talked about you know recreation facilities. We've talked about our downtowns. Think about the $12 million revitalization of the downtown Port Arthur, never mind the upwards of $10 million for the downtown Fort William. So this is a tough question because no one wants to pay more taxes. But the question I think really has to focus in on value for your taxes, and although we may be a little cranky about paying taxes, what's more important to many of us is that we receive value for our taxes, which does mean we need to be effective and efficient. And let me tell you, when I look at the budget, anybody who is cavalier with our money is irresponsible. When we spend our money, it is very serious. So when it comes to taxes, if I mean, if anybody up here tells you that they are going to cut your taxes, watch out, because if they say they're going to cut your taxes, what are you going to go without? Because it means a massive decrease in services. For me, I'm interested in maintaining our services, but I'm also interested in doing it more efficiently and effectively. I want value for your taxation. I wish I had more time to talk to you about some of the specialized programs we have to make taxes a little bit more affordable, like our low income tax and water rebate. But I've run out of time. Sorry about that.
Question 9: There have been criticisms of many new subdivisions as being effectively gated communities consisting of high-end homes with little affordable housing. Do you perceive this as a problem, and how would you address those concerned about these types of developments?
Albert Aiello
No, I don't see this as a problem. I am very, very growth motivated. When we talk about tax dollars, like Andrew just said, again, tax dollars assist everybody. With more tax dollars, we can get more done within the city, and at the end of the day, it does keep everyone's tax rate lower than if we didn't have that money. All types of housing are needed for growth to occur. Okay, and our smart growth plan addresses this. There's more homes on the market also brings costs down. I have two adult children that I know. I see them. It's like it's unreasonable to think that they could go buy a house, but because it's a supply and demand issue, the white picket fence is something that people want. If you look at the new subdivision we did in Central Avenue, for example, just passed yesterday, it has a wide range of housing all within the same core neighborhood. A lot of attention is based on diversification of housing. If you look at the inner cores, that's one type of housing. There's duplexes, which is another type of housing, and then you know you have your estate homes. Those are needed in the community. Again, we are experiencing growth, and there's lots coming down the pipe, and we have to be ready for all types of growth and all types of housing. We need to meet that demand. So when somebody comes, they don't they don't want to live in the downtown core. They choose to live maybe a little bit out of town with a piece of property. We have to be ready for that, and that's what this smart growth plan addresses. Not only that, you guys call it a gated community or whatever, but it addresses all forms of housing that are vital, absolutely vital for the city to continue to move forward. Thank you.
Question 10: Thunder Bay has a widely publicized infrastructure gap of over $30 million annually, meaning that every year we fall $30 million further behind in maintaining our assets. How would you seek to close that gap and ensure the community has well-maintained, high-quality infrastructure?
Brian Phillips
Thank you. We can focus more on maintaining the assets we do have. We tend to want to build new things, more things, and we lose focus on maintaining the assets in and around Thunder Bay. Roads need to be addressed. Definitely put more money towards the roads, less money on new spending. Focus and maintain the assets, as I said. Figure out a way to maintain everything in a proper way without losing money. I think we lose focus and get too far ahead of ourselves, and we lose track, so the assets we do have aren't maintained. So it costs more to maintain them. Roads are a major issue in this town. We certainly don't spend enough on that. So I think they should going forward put more money towards roads and maintaining that [time called].
Question 11: The Smart Growth Action Plan and other City documents actively promote infill and densification as part of the growth strategy. Do you believe the City is on the right track with its approach, and how would you like to see development occur in Thunder Bay?
Andrew Foulds
Yeah, thanks for the question. One of the unfortunate things about the city of Thunder Bay is that our geographical footprint is almost the size of Montreal, and so when you have a geographical footprint that is that large, and you have 100,000 people versus a million and a half, well, my last question was about taxes, right? It's a very inefficient, ineffective way to deliver a city. So densification is the way out of this. I was very proud to be the chair of the Earth Care Advisory Committee, and part of our mandate was to really put forward sustainable practices citywide. I am very proud that embedded in our official plan and our zoning bylaw are some of the principles about densification. We have aggressively looked at densification in a number of locations. Just take a look at the number of apartment buildings that have gone up. Now, just because apartment buildings are going up doesn't mean that they're all correct. I think most of you are aware of how I voted on 791 Arundel Street. I voted that way because, from a planning perspective, I didn't believe that that was the right development for that location. Some will disagree with me, but Albert quite rightly talked about the variety of housing, and the variety of housing has to start at tents. That's where people are starting their housing in this community, and in order to deal with tents and supportive housing, rent geared to income, market rent, first homes, apartments, then houses. We need to have an official plan that densifies this community, builds a variety of homes, a variety of different costs in those homes, and so that we can get people in there, and if we densify this community, someone had mentioned it earlier. That means our city is more efficient. That means it becomes more affordable. Affordability is an issue for all of us. This is how we solve the affordability problem: is we densify our city.
Question 12: The CEDC reports that Indigenous economic activity contributes almost $700 million to our local GDP and has a $1.55 billion economic impact. At the same time, our city has a reputation for racism and discrimination. How would you support Indigenous residents and attract Indigenous business to Thunder Bay?
Stephane Kuziora
Yeah, so this is going to be a hot topic. I believe Thunder Bay should be a place where everyone can start and operate a business without unnecessary barriers, regardless of their cultural or personal background. I would therefore be very, very cautious about creating any kind of different rules for business creation based on cultural identity, because the city's economic development system should be broadly fair, accessible, and equal. At the same time, though, I respect indigenous culture, and there's a different place for this. Rather than creating preferential barriers or advantages for businesses based on culture, I would be interested in finding ways to incorporate indigenous perspectives and cultural knowledge into the general development of Thunder Bay, such as the design of public spaces and the types and designs of public services. My objective would be to incorporate the Aboriginal culture into the fabric of the city structure, as opposed to just buying their businesses at the cost of other businesses. Thank you.
Question 13: The Thunder Bay Public Library has adopted a social procurement policy, which sets spending targets for purchasing from local businesses and Indigenous-owned businesses. The Chamber of Commerce is now advocating for similar buy-local policies for the City. Would you support the City adopting buy-local programs that aim to support local businesses, even if it may mean paying higher prices?
Brian Phillips
Yes, I support the plan that's in place. Yes, we need to support the local, but also control the price hikes. Buying local, supporting local is always the main thing. If it means a little higher pricing, it's somewhat give and take. But the ultimate goal is to buy local, support local, and maintain it. We can adopt lots of programs as long as they're beneficial to all facets of businesses, and that it's an equal playing field across the board. Thank you.
Question 14: Small businesses employ about two thirds of the Canadian workforce and are a critical part of our neighbourhoods and communities. How would you use City resources to support the local small business community?
Albert Aiello
Thank you for the question. There's a lot of work already being done in the city of Thunder Bay. This really falls under the CEDC. Part of their role is attracting new businesses and workforce. They have local improvement and grant opportunities for small businesses and new startup costs, and it's important that the city have serviced lots available that are ready to build on, because it does again through provincial grants that we receive, it allows us to prepare in advance lots for future builds, and this really does keep costs down for new startups, which would which sometimes may make the difference between a small business settling or starting up in Thunder Bay or not. But the main proponent of new business and small business in Thunder Bay is the CEDC. We support this. Obviously, we support the CEDC, and they do some fantastic work in the city. And again, from cruise ships, you know, to the big [unclear] Expo we just saw. These are these are ways they promote the community. They have a great viewership on their website and their social media, but they are the ones that really promote the city of Thunder Bay and providing those opportunities to businesses to call Thunder Bay home and help drive our economy forward.
Question 15: The City has adopted a target-based approach to tax increases. The aim is for the rate of tax increases to roughly match the pace of inflation. Do you agree with this approach, and under what circumstances should Council approve higher tax rates?
Stephane Kuziora
Yeah, so I would be very cautious about using inflation as a benchmark for municipal tax increases. Firstly, are we talking about currency inflation or cost inflation? And if cost inflation, what cost inflation? The cost inflation of the country or the cost inflation of Thunder Bay. I also don't think Thunder Bay's local cost inflation should automatically determine how much our taxation increases, since the city's basket of goods for its costs are very different than the basket of goods for the average resident in Thunder Bay. Like you, as a resident of Thunder Bay pay very different services and costs than the city of Thunder Bay, so they're not the same kind of cost inflation to compare for. And the cost inflation that does occur within Thunder Bay is going to be more a reflection of market conditions. Something like a tanker got stranded in Lake Superior, and so cost of diesel or something in Thunder Bay has gone up. So I don't think benchmarking our taxation to such a metric is a good standard for the city to follow. What I would rather see is municipal spending grow roughly in line with the natural growth of the city's revenue base. So growth resulting from increasing productivity, wealth, and economic activity within the city. The city should benefit from a growing economy without automatically taking an increasing share of that growth through higher tax rates.
Question 16: Many parents struggle to secure spots in child care facilities, which prevents them from returning to the workforce. Would you endorse an increase in the City's child care programs, and how would you deal with the cost of raising a child for Thunder Bay parents?
Andrew Foulds
Well, let me let me start by saying I'm a parent, and I frankly was luckier probably than most because all three of my children were able to attend daycare. The benefits of daycare are unequivocal, and so the role of daycare in our society is important. It is important. We had some questions about the economy. We've had some questions about growth. Childcare plays a role in that because it allows parents to go back to work in a lot of cases because they need to, because they have to earn money for that affordability piece. So affordable daycare, high quality daycare is important. I realize the question is coming from the library, but I think there needs to be an understanding about where the money for daycare comes from, and it is a provincial responsibility. So daycare money flows through the DSSAB, our District Social Services Administration Board. Councillor Aiello sits on that board, and that money flows to operators. The City of Thunder Bay is a daycare operator, but it is the receiver of the funds from the provincial government. The reason why we are in the child care business is actually historic. Okay, do I support child care? Absolutely. It's a game changer. In a modern progressive society, we need child care. Are we short today in the city of Thunder Bay? We absolutely are. As a city council, we need to continue to lobby both the DSSAB and the provincial government through our Intergovernmental Affairs Committee for more child care funding, so there could be more spaces. But also, we have to advocate for good-paying childcare jobs, so we have high quality, and we need to make sure that that infrastructure is there as well.
Question 17: Thunder Bay is projected to have a labour shortage in the near future, and many businesses complain about getting the skilled labour they need to grow. What is your plan to attract the labour force we need to Thunder Bay?
Albert Aiello
So, just in regards to the labor shortage, again Canada wide, not just in Thunder Bay, there is work already being done. Again, through the CEDC, this is something that they shoulder as well. We have we've had the most successful immigration pilot project in all of Canada. We've successfully had more immigrants come to Thunder Bay and fulfill the requirements and stay in Thunder Bay and or our surrounding area, so we should be very very proud of that. Another component to jobs, all obviously, is education. There has been a reduction at the college level, Confederation College, in a number of different trades like airplane mechanics, for example. And they keep cutting programs that are so well, so important and needed in order to ensure that we have a workforce to build the city. If you look at all the construction, we need we need laborers, but we need we need skilled people as well. As we diversify our economy here in Thunder Bay. There's lots, you know. There's talks about mining, obviously. There's talks about lithium plants. These are all very specialized jobs. So it's important that the university and we need to work with the university and we need to work with the college to ensure that there's programs that align with the future of this diversified economy, because at the end of the day, we need to be ready for when the big boom happens. We can't wait and be after the fact. We need to do it now. Thank you.
Question 18: Affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for many Thunder Bay workers. What specific tools would you use as a councillor to increase the supply of affordable rental and ownership housing?
Brian Phillips
Affordable housing. The city and administration could look at repurposing vacant or underutilized buildings and turn them into affordable housing. There seems to be a lot of those buildings in and around the Thunder Bay area. Work with property owners and managers that are willing to work with the city to make affordable housing. They don't always need to be new builds. There's enough vacant structures or affordable type housing like four floor or apartment units or prefab homes that would help eliminate the high costs of renting or ownership of new buildings or housing. Thank you.
Question 19: City Council appoints the majority of the Police Service Board, and councillors actively serve on the Police Board as well. There have been concerns raised in the community about police accountability and public trust, and many Indigenous community leaders have been advocating for systemic change for years. What governance or operational changes would you advocate for at the Police Service Board to address both crime reduction and increasing public trust in our local police service?
Andrew Foulds
I was actually really hoping that I got that question because my response to that question is I look out in this crowd, you wouldn't be here looking at us, evaluating us, if you didn't care about this city. How many of us have traveled somewhere else? How many of us have received phone calls? Oh, you're from Thunder Bay. What's going on there? We've all got those calls. We've been there, and people have questioned our community. The four of us and all of you care deeply about this community, and we need to change the dial when it comes to the narrative about this city. The police and police services is a part of that, but it is not the only part of that in terms of changing the dial. So you may remember we were in a police services board takeover, and we had a public administrator. That public administrator was Malcolm Mercer, who made a series of recommendations so that the police services board and the police services was more accountable, and it really focused in on things like transparency, accountability, and relationships. I really want to commend the chief of police. He is out there ward meetings, talking to people. He's at doing town halls. He's doing that. The next council, our mayor and one councillor, will attend those meetings. City council will send a clear mandate on continuing transparency, accountability, and relationship. Relationship is with everyone, but we have to rebuild the relationship with our indigenous communities. I want to spend my last 15 seconds talking about changing the dial, because this city I am proud of. We are going to be an economic powerhouse. We have second-to-none recreation. We are environmental stewards. We are on the cusp of greatness. To change the dial, we all have a responsibility to communicate how great this city is.
Question 20: The City's temporary shelter village and encampment response plan are intended to help address homelessness in Thunder Bay. Do you support the current approach, and what long-term strategy would you pursue to address the crisis?
Stephane Kuziora
So it's interesting that this is probably going to be the last question of the night, from what I understand, and this is probably the most important question of Thunder Bay is the homelessness in Thunder Bay. When I left Thunder Bay years ago to do my studies abroad. You would be hard pressed to find somebody homeless on the streets of Thunder Bay. It would be a rarity. You can't. I came back a year and a half ago, and I seen [unclear], tents, swarms almost, and it's sad to see. It hurts me at my heart. So emergency shelters and the temporary shelter villages that the previous city council has put forward is fine as a temporary measure, but it's not a good long-term solution. My approach, and I want to make it clear, this is my current approach, and I'm very open to a deep dialog and understanding of what things would be more effective and what things would be less effective. But my current approach is this: I would support housing first. We would just get the homeless into houses, and that acts as a foundation. And then the next step is to make sure every homeless person has a case manager. The case manager connects the homeless person to all the services they need, whether it's housing, addiction, mental health services, employment, healthcare, or other types of supports. So every single homeless person has housing. Every single homeless person has a case manager that can address their needs on a case-by-case basis, and that we, as a city, can then follow up. We can ask the case manager, "How effective are you at transitioning this person out of being dependent on our housing-first system? The ultimate end goal is to get them independent, and one last final step to this would be a exit fund, where the employment of a certain percentage of the person who's relying on the housing for on the housing would take a certain amount of their money, go into an exit fund, which is managed by the case manager for when they attempt to leave the housing system [time called; he finishes the point in his closing]
Closing statements
Brian Phillips
I'd just like to thank everybody for coming out tonight, giving me an opportunity to speak, give some views, and I appreciate your time that you've taken out your day to come here and see us tonight. Look forward to serving you into the future. Hopefully, serving the McIntyre Ward and the city on a whole. So thank you again, and it's a team effort to run the city. So hopefully, the right team is picked. Thank you.
Albert Aiello
Thank you, Councillor Foulds said that you're here because you care, and the fact that you took time out of your day to come to listen to us and express our views and ideas is very very meaningful. One thing that I would I tell all the people, even at my ward meetings, please read the Municipal Act because the Municipal Act will give you a clear picture of exactly what the municipality is responsible for, what councilors can and cannot do. It's just very, very important to understand that. For example, there's a lot of questions that I would have loved to chime in and say, well, for example, the municipality can't provide incentives for small businesses and stuff like that, so that it's a far-reaching document, but it's a very good read because councilors don't have say. We can't just bring things up when it comes to council meetings and stuff like that. So take it as a tool, but I tell all my residents, please read it so you know what we can and cannot do. Thank you very much for your time and look forward to serving McIntyre Ward again. Thank you. Thank you.
Stephane Kuziora
Yeah, I'm just gonna really quickly rewrap what I was trying to say about the exit fund. I believe they can kind of finish with proper timing there, and I hopefully I explained it well. So the exit fund would be for each of the homeless people who are currently using the housing system, and then a portion of their earned income would go into their own personal fund. And at the once their fund collects enough volume or amount, and they feel comfortable to transition into permanent housing, they would spend that money. But when they spend it would be supervised by a case manager, so they don't just go on a binge and you know relapse or something like this, right? Because ultimately, we want our homeless to be not dependent on The taxpayer, we want them to reintegrate into society, be model citizens of Thunder Bay again, and you know, be healthy, be happy, and be prosperous. And I hope, as a candidate for city council, that I can put forward this kind of plan, and thank you. Thank you, mr.
Andrew Foulds
Thank you for the opportunity to sum up. I just I wanted to take a moment to thank Brian Albert and Stefan for being tablemates with me this evening. Thank all of you for coming this evening. I want to end by saying, a number of people have come up to me and said, Andrew, you've been doing this for a while. Why are you continuing? And I brought that up with my children, and my children said, Why do you why do you keep doing this, Dad? And the answer is very simple. It's because of them. It's because of my children, and because I care deeply about this community. We could talk about the issues out the ears, but what it comes down to is we all want our children to have a chance here, to have a job here, a house here, to play here safely. We are all here for our children. I care deeply about this community. I want to continue to give back to this community. I believe I have something to offer you. I hope I've earned your trust over my tenure. I really hope I continue to serve you as your councillor for Current River.