Prince George city council voted to appoint councillors Susan Scott, Kyle Sampson, Garth Frizzell and Brian Skakun to the new select committee that will shape the citizen medal recognition program at its Monday, Jan. 13 meeting.
The program was initially introduced by Sampson, Coun. Cori Ramsay and Coun. Tim Bennett last year, saying that the existing Freedom of the City award is rarely awarded. The intent is for up to five people to be given awards each year.
Mayor Simon Yu said at the Jan. 13 meeting that he voted against establishing the program the last time it came up not because he objected to improve the city’s awards program but because he was wary of it becoming a political exercise.
However, he said he would like to be on the select committee because he wants to recognize people in the city belonging to visible minorities and champion their cases.
The mayor nominated himself, Frizzell, Scott and Skakun to the committee. His rationale for the latter three was that they are the most senior members of council.
Ramsay nominated herself, Sampson, Bennett and Coun. Ron Polillo.
Bennett nominated Coun. Trudy Klassen, meaning all nine councillors received nominations. After that happened, staff passed out ballots to each councillor.
After the four winners of the ballot were announced, Sampson said he rejected the notion that the program would become a political exercise, saying he always intended it to be a non-partisan effort.
The last comment Yu made before departing the meeting to attend the Future Fuels Forum and leaving Klassen to chair the meeting as acting mayor was that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Council also approved terms of reference at the meeting, which have the committee’s term ending on Sept. 30, 2025.
Before that end date, the committee will develop a report suggesting the rules through which people are nominated for the program, how many annual nominees will be suggested, what the awards will look like, what the award ceremony will be like and more.
One of the discussions mentioned in the terms of reference is whether people can be given the award posthumously.
Like other city committees, all members of council would be entitled to attend all meetings even if they do not have voting rights.
Administration suggests it will recruit the non-council members of the committee from Jan. 16 through Feb. 20, with council voting on which nominations to approve at its closed meeting on March 10.
The committee’s chair will be nominated and approved at its first regular meeting, which is likely to take place in the last week of March. The committee would then meet once a month until its term ends.
Once that final report is presented, the program is expected to launch in 2026.
