B.C. Minister of Community Peter Fassbender challenges Nanaimo city council to find a path to work together, but the province will not intervene.
“There are very, very extreme circumstances where the provincial government would get involved because you know there are disagreements in communities around the province that happen at council tables,” he said. “The ministry is not about to ride in and say, ‘well we are going to fix it for you.’ That’s just not our job.”
Seven of eight Nanaimo city councillors have called for Mayor Bill McKay to resign over a number of allegations, such as attempts to remove the city’s chief administrative officer from an interim position. Councillors continued to air grievances at an open meeting last week against the mayor who was blamed for the need for new policy, while McKay alleged councillors have held secret meetings.
The ministry is aware of the situation with Nanaimo council and government staff have been in touch with staff members in Nanaimo on whether there’s any support or information they can provide, according to Fassbender, who was in Nanaimo Friday for the annual Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities convention.
He said at no point would the ministry intervene because it honours local government, which is elected and accountable to the electorate. He also said that having been a locally elected official, he knows at times there are challenges around the council table and said his hope is they are able to resolve those among themselves.
“It takes all of them saying we were elected to serve the community, so I hope that is the overriding principle and that they can come to a place where this doesn’t continue because I don’t think it’s good for the community or good for any of the individuals that sit around the council table,” he said.
Fassbender said he’s always concerned when people can’t get along.
“I am concerned for them, as I say, and the community that perhaps the good work that council should be focused on may not be as effective because they are having the kind of discord that may exist. My challenge to them is to see if they can’t find a path to working together,” he said.
Fassbender didn’t know how many times this has happened but said when he was chosen mayor of Langley, a majority on council were not happy about his election. His job was to build collaboration.
“When I first got there … I am not sure I knew what to anticipate other than I was elected to do the job as they were, so I respected them for what they did and I asked for that same level of respect.”
