The decision to consider the removal of members from the Orillia Hall of Fame could be shifted away from city council’s influence, and a youth category for the Order of Orillia could be introduced.
Those two ideas were part of a motion passed by city council on Tuesday, where council discussed a report meant to update the city’s commemorative awards committee’s process to operate similarly to the process for awarding the annual Citizen of the Year award.
The policy proposes that selection panel members be “local area citizens who recognize the value of sharing the history and stories of successful people,” that vacancies on the panel will be advertised at the end of a term of council, that the process requires the committee to continue reporting to council in closed session, among other updates.
Given council’s recent decision to remove Thomas Gummersall Anderson — a former British Indian Department employee — from the Hall of Fame, Coun. Tim Lauer proposed that council’s influence on removals from the hall be removed, and that the responsibility for removal fall to the committee.
“I just think to take politics out of it would be sensible to make the appeal process,” Lauer said.
Council and city staff debated city staff’s role in approving and removing members of the Hall of Fame, with some confusion arising about council’s authority in the process, and — if the decision is ultimately up to council — whether it’s appropriate for council to re-examine its own decisions.
CAO Gayle Jackson explained the committee does report to council, who can then flag individuals for further consideration, but the process is meant to remove political influence from the selection process.
“At that point of time in closed session, that member of council could certainly flag an individual and perhaps request that there be further research or for the consideration of that individual,” she said. “Ultimately, the whole process is to remove that political influence from the nomination selection process.”
Amanpreet Sidhu, general manager of corporate services/city solicitor, added that “nobody should be a judge in their own cause” and “it is best they do not have the opportunity to judge their own decisions.”
However, a majority of council agreed with Lauer’s proposal, with Coun. Jay Fallis stating “taking the politics out of it might be the best way of addressing it.”
Ultimately, Lauer gained support to request a report back on the feasibility of the committee itself managing the removal process, as opposed to city council.
During the discussion, Durnford also noted that, given the 10-year service requirement for the Orillia of Orillia appointment, and its minimum age of 24, an additional youth category be created to help recognize the contributions of young people in Orillia.
“My concern is that the 10-year requirements would mean that most youth might be excluded, because they'd have to start (their work at) 14 to have any impact and to be eligible to receive the award at 24,” she said. “I did wonder about having a separate youth category for the Order of Orillia and whether the committee might consider something like that.”
Council supported Durnford’s idea, which will be addressed in the report on the removal process for the Hall of Fame.
The Order of Orillia was established in 2000 to recognize long-term volunteers in the city, and the Orillia Hall of Fame was established in 1964 to recognize individuals who have received national/international recognition for “outstanding accomplishments in their field or endeavour.”
