Council considers introducing Order of Orillia Youth Award

The decision to consider removing members from the Orillia Hall of Fame could be removed from the influence of city council, and a youth category for the Order of Orillia could be introduced.

Both ideas were part of a motion passed by the City Council on Tuesday, in which the council discussed a report to update the city’s Memorial Awards Committee process so that it operates similarly to the process for awarding the annual Citizen of the Year Award.

The policy proposes that members of the selection committee be “area citizens who recognize the value of sharing history and stories of successful people”, that vacancies on the committee be announced at the end of a mandate from council, that the process requires the committee to continue reporting to council in closed session, among other updates.

Given the council’s recent decision to remove Thomas Gummersall Anderson – a former employee of the British Department of Indian Affairs – from the Hall of Fame, Coun. Tim Lauer proposed that the council’s influence on removals from the hall be removed and that the responsibility for removal be placed on the committee.

“I just think it would be wise to take politics out of the appeals process,” Lauer said.

Council and city staff have debated the role of city staff in approving and revoking Hall of Fame members, with some confusion over council’s authority in the process and, whether the decision ultimately rests with the board, whether it is appropriate for the board to review its own decisions.

Executive Director Gayle Jackson explained that the committee reports to the board, which can then flag individuals for further review, but that the process aims to remove any political influence from the selection process.

“At that point, in closed session, that council member could certainly report an individual and perhaps request that further investigation be conducted or that that individual be considered,” she said . “Ultimately the whole process is about removing that political influence from the candidate selection process.”

Amanpreet Sidhu, general manager of corporate services/city lawyer, added that “no one should be the judge of their own cause” and “it is better that they do not have the opportunity to judge their own decisions.”

However, a majority of the council accepted Lauer’s proposal, the Council. Jay Fallis says “taking politics out of the problem might be the best way to fix it.”

Ultimately, Lauer gained support for requesting a report on the feasibility of the committee itself managing the referral process, as opposed to the city council.

During the discussion, Durnford also noted that given Orillia’s 10-year service requirement for appointment to Orillia and its minimum age of 24, an additional youth category should be created to help to recognize the contributions of Orillia youth.

“My concern is that the 10-year requirement would mean that most young people could be excluded, as they would have to start (their work at) 14 to make an impact and be eligible to receive the award at 24 years,” she said. . “I wondered if it was possible to create a separate youth category for the Order of Orillia and if the committee might consider something like that.”

The Council supported Durnford’s idea, which will be addressed in the report on the Hall of Fame retirement process.

The Order of Orillia was established in 2000 to recognize long-serving volunteers in the city, and the Orillia Hall of Fame was established in 1964 to recognize individuals who have received national or international recognition for ” their outstanding achievements in their field or business.”