Mayor turns to the 'grass roots' for help and direction in meeting the COVID crisis

News 100 redBy Staff

April 6th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward today announced the launch of a Task force that will share information and mobilize community and agency resources to support our hospital and healthcare workers.

Today I launched the Burlington COVID-19 Task Force with the goal of further supporting our community through this unprecedented health crisis.

The Task Force will share information and mobilize community and agency resources to support our hospital and healthcare workers as we prepare for the anticipated surge of patients in the coming weeks and the recovery period to follow, as well as coordinate our broader community efforts on COVID-19. Members will bring information and/or requests for assistance back to each of their own organizations and emergency response tables.

While this information-sharing and collaboration is already happening, the Task Force will formalize and add structure to this effort as we collectively serve our community over the coming weeks and months.

Membership includes community leaders and decision-makers representing various organizations and agencies involved in the COVID-19 response. New members may be added as needs evolve. Each participant is likely to be a member of their own organization’s COVID-19 response group, with an ability to bring information from that table to the Task Force, and vice versa.

Invitees began with and grew from the panelists on the City’s recent public telephone town hall on March 26th. Community response to that event was overwhelmingly positive, with residents specifically mentioning that they appreciated the assembled panel of cross-functional experts and leaders, and seeing the evidence of collaboration, sharing of information and coordinating of efforts to serve them.

Organizations invited at this time include representatives from the City of Burlington and our Emergency Control Group, City Council, the Burlington Fire Department, Halton Regional Police Service, Joseph Brant Hospital, our local MPs and MPPs, school boards, Halton Region, Burlington Hydro, TEAM Burlington and business support groups, as well as military, spiritual and philanthropic groups. The full list can be found on our website.

Our first meeting will take place tomorrow afternoon. Future meetings are expected to take place weekly, or more often as necessary, by teleconference chaired by the Mayor. A summary of action and information will be provided to all members after each call, with highlights posted for the public on the City’s and Mayor’s websites.

I look forward to the continued collaboration between these valued organizations and leaders in our community as we work through the challenge that we now know is ahead of us for the next 18-24 months.

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6 comments to Mayor turns to the ‘grass roots’ for help and direction in meeting the COVID crisis

  • Helen Donohoe

    Indeed, a task force this large is unwieldy. Find a way to capture the voices of the city. The community leaders and decision-makers have plenty to do in their own domains and with the cross-referencing they have to do.

  • Stephen White

    This isn’t so much a Task Force as it is a casting call for a re-make of Ben-Hur.

    Jim is absolutely right. There are far too many people on this Task Force. Police, fire, ambulance, first responders, etc. do not need to be at the table as they are already represented on other advisory committees and frankly, have more important tasks at hand like dealing with the pandemic. We don’t need the Chamber or the Downtown Business Association as they have repeatedly shown an inability to provide anything of substantive value. What we need is a cross-section of non-aligned, unaffiliated and independent minded residents from across the City who can provide frank, valuable and informed input on a variety of issues.

    Alfred’s idea of asking each Councillor to generate two names is as good a suggestion as any of a place to start. Keep the Task Force to 12-16 people, and ensure that ideas that are proposed get sufficient airing and consideration. Finally, keep the focus future-oriented. We need to prepare for life after the pandemic, particularly how to position the community and its residents for future success.

  • Howard

    Public health is the responsibility of the Region. The Mayor once again is trying to make this more about her and taking over someone else’s responsibility. She is totally undermining the Region’s mandate and authority.

  • Alfred

    Jim. Maybe my math is bad. Only 1 citizen from a pool of 180,000 seems a tad sparce. Each councilor should appoint 2 citizens. Each would bring a different perspective from their wards. Dynamics differ between Rural areas vs Downtown.

    • Jim Young

      Hi Alfred.
      In general I agree …. The more citizen voices … The better.
      My fear about this whole task force has been that it is too big (36 members and no ward representatives) to bs effective.
      2 citizens from each ward plus the professionals it needs might still make it too big to work well.
      I do like the principle of citizen voices balancing the “experts” with their lived experience and local knowledge. We should always advocate for that.

  • Jim Young

    While a Covid19 task force may well be of value, it seems to me that any committee with 36 people including the military, is not only overkill but may be more of a response to optics and political perception than any action required of them.

    No matter how well intended, it is simply too big and cumbersome to be effective, especially when, at present, all meetings will have to be on-line.

    Even with just one member from each suggested organisation the task force would have some seventeen members. Still too big to be effective.

    Furthermore if I may quote the mayor’s words from the introduction to this blog on why she entered municipal politics: “…… after my neighbours said they felt left out of city decisions, learning about them only after they’d been made…….” I have to ask, where are the citizen members on this Covid19 taskforce? Those most affected by the decisions of such a task force.

    A taskforce consisting of The Mayor plus one member each from: City Council, City Management, Hospital, Fire, Police, BIAs, School Boards and a Citizen Group (9 in Total) would suffice and be much more efficient, effective and representative of our community.