The Thompson city council, minus Duncan Wong and Judy Kolada, met-up on Monday, Aug. 14 to hand out certificates of appreciation and vote on a number of different resolutions.
However, the “General Inquiries” section of the meeting briefly took the spotlight away from the rest of the agenda, since local residents used that time to air their concerns about growing acts of crime and vandalism within the community.
First up was business owner and Order of Thompson recipient Nick DiVirgilio, who told the council that he has been repeatedly witness to unprecedented levels of criminal activity throughout the last two months.
Ever since he was attacked in his vehicle on the morning of July 13, DiVirgilio said he has been witnessed to least five to six more incidents of crime or vandalism near the North Centre Mall and his private residence.
“It’s getting bad,” he said later in a conversation with the Thompson Citizen. “I’ve been in this town 55 years and this is the worse I’ve ever seen.”
According to a recent report by the RCMP, violent crime in Thompson shot up by nearly 28 per cent between 2015 and 2016.
DiVirgilio also stressed the idea that much of the blame for this influx of crime and vandalism falls on the parents of the perpetrators, many of whom are very young.
“From our perspective we have our safety officers, we employ the RCMP,” said Mayor Dennis Fenske in response to DiVirgilo at the Aug. 14 meeting. “They’re reacting to the situation as they can. Depending on the age of the offenders there are certain things we can and cannot do, but we’re working within a system.”
Resident Rita Werstroh echoed DiVirgilio’s concerns about safety during her time in front of council, asking if they would consider establishing a curfew within the city to help curb crime.
While Fenske would not commit to this idea, he said they will continue to utilize the resources the city currently has at its disposal to police the community properly.
“From our perspective, we will continue to work with our partners to try and make the community as safe as we can,” he said.
The City of Thompson did establish a youth curfew back in July 2005, although that bylaw was repealed in 2007 after two local parents threatened to sue the city for violating their children’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Executive wage increase
Although it was not part of their original itinerary, council voted to ratify an executive wage increase by 1.25 per cent at the end of their Aug. 14 meeting.
Deputy Mayor Kathy Valentino was one of the more vocal proponents of this resolution, saying “I think that we have to lean on our leaders of our organization more so than ever in the next few years as we’re faced with financial changes with Vale’s footprint here in our city.”
However, this resolution was not without opposition.
“I will not be supporting this due to the realities of Thompson today,” said Coun. Ron Matechuk. “We are six weeks away from affects of Birtchtree starting and I can’t support an increase to something that many residents already see as a fairy-tale wage of benefit package.”
Coun. Penny Byer was quick to point out that the wage increase was already approved through the 2017 budget process and that this motion was more of a formality.
After calling for a vote, the resolution passed by a 6–1 margin, with Matechuk being the only one opposed.
Other business
The Mayor kicked off the Aug. 14 meeting by handing out certificates of achievement to influential members of the community.
This latest batch of certificates were presented to Indigenous Games gold medalist Breeann Pagee, a representative from Best Western Thompson, and three members of the Thompson Assiniboine Credit Union for receiving a 2017 national credit union award for social responsibility.
This meeting also featured letters from Manitoba Minister of Indigenous and Municipal Relations Eileen Clarke, who approved a request for funding various road projects ($400,000) and adding $50,000 the 2017 Small Communities Transportation Fund.
The city council will resume their bi-weekly schedule following their Sept. 5 meeting at City Hall.
