Bill Mauro says “it drives him crazy” to have to listen to the negative talk about Thunder Bay across the country.
During a town hall meeting last night with about 100 people, the mayor acknowledged the effect of two reports on racism in the Thunder Bay police force, but he also went after the national media.
“We all have the same problems, pretty much. And this idea that somehow Thunder Bay is worse than everybody else, and that we’re the hate crime capital of Canada, or the murder… you know, it’s just taking these stats and using them to sell newspapers and it’s driving me insane.”
Thunder Bay’s mayor also pointed out people have criticized him for standing up, saying he’s not addressing the problems that exist.
“We all need to stand up for ourselves, and need to tell these guys what they’re doing, what they’re saying, what they’re reporting, to try and make us look like some anomaly across the country is absurd and ridiculous.”
He added we should be proud of the good Thunder Bay has to offer.
“You should be taking great pride in the policies, and the programs, and the processes that are in place, and that have been in place for 5 to 10 years, long before those 2 guys brought their reports down.”
Dease Pool was also a big topic.
The mayor took questions about what it would take to reverse the decision to close the pool.
He suggested it was unlikely they would get through the process to re-vote, but notes they aren’t demolishing the structure right now and will get a report Dease Pool in September.
A small group of people protesting the pool’s closure were outside the meeting at the Victoria Inn.
Other topics included the indoor turf facility and complaints about the condition of city roads.
Mauro argued council has difficult decisions to make on how to spend its money, especially with changes in funding from the province.
