Elizabeth School Grade 2 Class Visit

I spent a great time this morning with 34 grade 2 students at Elizabeth School. There are a great class with good questions. Part way through the discussion we had a mock Council meeting to decide if school should only be Monday through Thursday. The class decided school should only be four days a week even if it means longer hours and less recesses.

Thank you Mrs Kirtzinger, Ms MacDougall, and Ms Burkall for the invitation.

Here are the questions.

1.  How do you become the mayor?

·         Election every 4 years

·         You have to be at least 18 years of age

·         The person with the most votes wins

·         I won with about 45% of the vote

2.  How long can someone be the mayor?

·         As long as you are healthy and people support you

·         The oldest Mayor in Canada, Hazel McCallion retired last fall when she was 93.

·         John Hamlyn has been Mayor of Crow Head Newfoundland for 52 years. His term ends in 2017 and he is currently 83.

·         The youngest mayor in Saskatchewan is Thomas Sierzycki who was 21 when elected in 2009, he is now 27.

3. How many people can run for mayor?

·         There is no limit to the number of people who can run for Mayor or Council

·         For Toronto’s last mayoral election 67 candidates registered as candidates for mayor, 18 withdrew and two re-entered for a total at the end of 51

·         The top three candidates received 97% of the vote

4.  Who else helps make decisions in our community?

·         There are many people and groups who help makes decisions

·         First, all decisions are from Council

·         Administration provides advice to Council

·         There are many groups in Kindersley who contact each other and Council to influence decisions – these include hockey, soccer, Chamber of Commerce, Hospitality Association, and more

·         Individuals also can help make decisions – Mrs Kirtzinger helped us be aware of the truck parking on her street and we were able to change that, without Mrs Kirtzinger we may not have known about the issue

5.  What do we do if people don't agree when they make decisions?

·         It is normal for there to be disagreement

·         However there is a difference between healthy and unhealthy disagreement

·         As Mayor I’m responsible to ensure Council functions in a healthy manner

·         Decisions are made when there is a majority

6.  Does our community have conflict sometimes?

·         It is normal to have conflict

·         Yes we have conflict but it is usually healthy

7.  How do we solve the conflict in our community?

·         Generally it requires talking about the issue

·         Sometimes we just agree to disagree and not everyone is happy

·         Unfortunately we sometimes don’t agree to disagree and then there are two options

·         Mediation – this happens when a person helps the two people having a conflict talk to one another

·         Court – lawyers become involved and then a judge decides the issue

8.  How does a law get made?

·         Laws are made by Council

·         For a law to come into effect it takes a majority of Council to agree

·         Leading up to the vote there are some steps involved:

·         Information is shared about the law, this is done by Administration, including the need for the law and its intended outcome; we also discuss what some unintended consequence may be

·         Stakeholders may be invited to help educate Council about the issue

·         After learning about the law then Council will discuss it to learn more perspectives

·         Finally there is a vote

9.  Why do we have community laws or rules?

·         Having laws and rules helps us to better live together with healthy relationships

·         In our constitution it calls for government to provide ‘order and good government’

·         There are three types of laws:

·         Criminal: which is for anti-social behaviour like robbery and murder;

·         Constitutional: which is about the relations between governments and governments and government and people such as can the government spy on you

·         Administrative law which is how government operates so things are fair

10.  What are some plans that Kindersley members are working on now?

·         Growth Plan includes:

·         Strategic Plan

·         Official Community Plan

·         Long Term Financial Plan

·         Infrastructure Capacity Plan

·         Organizational Effectiveness Plan

·         Communication Plan

·         Landfill Environmental Assessment Plan (closing the landfill)

·         Regional Landfill Development

·         Quality of Life Plan

·         West Central Community Centre Needs & Operational Assessment

·         Traffic Plan

·         Asset Management Plan

We are also working on: 

·         A new park between Coleman Cres and Hahn Cres

·         A new pool

·         A new sewage lagoon

·         A new landfill

·         Becoming a city

·         A plan to stabilize the delivery of healthcare services in Kindersley