A full-time mayor for Iqaluit?

DENISE RIDEOUT

An Iqaluit MLA is calling on city council to consider changing the mayor’s position from a half-time to a full-time job.

But the city’s mayor isn’t convinced that’s the way to go.

Ed Picco, MLA for the Iqaluit East riding, says it’s time Canada’s newest capital city, and one of its fastest growing cities, elects a full-time mayor.

On Oct. 29, during the Nunavut legislative assembly session in Pangnirtung, Picco made a member’s statement that suggested city council should kick-start a debate on the issue.

“Having served as an MLA for Iqaluit over the past seven years, I’ve seen the transition of the community from 1995 to where it is today, before it was the capital, before the growth, when the population was 3,500,” Picco said in an interview.

“And just seeing the workload that the mayor and the council are dealing with, I think right now the mayor’s position should be made full-time.”

Last week’s byelection race in Iqaluit inspired Picco to think about the way city council runs.

“With this election, maybe there’s an opportunity for the new council and the new members on council to say ‘Look, is this the time to bring forth a motion together to make a full-time mayor position?,’” Picco said.

Currently, the mayor’s position in Iqaluit is part-time.

A full-time mayor could devote more hours to tackling the issues and lobbying the territorial and federal government, Picco said.

He also suggested that more residents would likely run for the mayor’s position if they were guaranteed a full-time salary.

“I think you need to have a salary package and a benefit package that will attract them to a job that’s full-time. If you’re going to leave your own full-time employment there has to be something there to attract that kind of a candidate,” he said.

“I want to clarify and emphasize that I’m not saying anything about the current mayor. I’m just saying that maybe it’s time for a full-time mayor,” the MLA said.

But Iqaluit’s mayor isn’t buying the idea there’s an urgent need for the city to have a full-time political head.

“I’m not so sure we need it right now. We just switched from a quarter time two years ago to a half-time position. And I’d be fine to retain the status quo for at least the next term,” Mayor John Matthews said.

“One of the concerns that’s been expressed is that if we have a full-time mayor, is that the mayor may want to get more involved in the day-to-day operations and that’s technically not the mayor’s privy. It’s the CAO [Chief Administrative Officer] that looks after the day-to-day operations,” he said.

While the mayor’s job likely won’t change to full-time, Matthews wants to review the pay scale.

“I hope to form a citizens’ commission just to examine the renumeration to ensure that it’s fair for the people and the citizens,” Matthews said.

“This is coming from a concerned employee who thinks the mayor is being overpaid. So we want to have all this as transparent as possible.”