Port Hardy residents can now officially call former councillor Dennis Dugas the new mayor of the town.
“Now we have a new team. I’m very excited about our new team. I know we have a lot of things on our plate that we’re going to be working on. We have the multiplex, which is a big item for our community and we’re looking forward to seeing how we can move forward with that particular item,” mayor Dugas said.
As for how soon the new council will start their work, Dugas made mention that there will be no breather. “We’re going to roll up our sleeves starting tomorrow,” he said at last night’s swearing-in ceremony. “We’re going to have a meeting regarding rezoning. And it’s going to be interesting. I know there are some people in the community who are really excited about it.” He also noted that the new council will be hearing concerns about these kinds of issues.
“We’re getting right into it. We’re getting ready to work here starting this week,” he added. “We’re really looking forward to what we could have for the municipality in the future.”
He reassured residents that this new council was elected by the locals to represent them and to make decisions on behalf of them. He noted that “the reason why we’re elected is to basically make sure we’re doing what our community wants us to do for them.”
“The decisions that we make we want to make sure we hear the people in our community,” he mentioned. “We have goals and objectives that we’re going to put together. We were elected by the people for the people and that’s why we’re all here today because we want to represent you in the best way we can.” He also mentioned that any decision council makes will always have negatives and positives to it, but the council’s duty is to hear local input into every district issue.
As for what Port Hardy residents can expect from First Nations relations, Dugas touched base on that as well. “I’m really looking forward to our relationship-building. We have to respectfully acknowledge the Kwakiutl peoples and we’re looking forward to building those relationships and moving forward as we work together. We all know together we’re stronger and that’s what we want in our community,” Dugas said.
“We have an excellent staff here in Port Hardy,” Dugas finally concluded in his swearing-in speech. “We have great people who work for us. We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we’re in.”
