Northwood Ward’s current City Councillor Dominic Pasqualino is not seeking re-election, leaving the door wide open for one of three new faces to take the seat: Syed Kabir, John Ongaro, and André Gagné.

John Ongaro is an employee of Acadia Broadcasting.

André Gagné

Gagné works in logistics and operations for his family’s business, which operates in the shipping and transportation industry.

He’s been a longtime follower of city politics who feels his experience can be used in City Hall, and that now is the time to get involved.

“I strongly believe in what an individual can do if they just take the time to start reading the documents and communicating with councillors.”

Gagné is very concerned with infrastructure issues like potholes and storm sewer drainage, seeing them as day-to-day issues that ought to get more attention from the city.

“It ties into a broader priority of spending on the assets we have and not looking at all these new shiny projects,” he explains.

Gagné thinks the city’s Smart Growth Action Plan was a promising move from City Hall in this past term, and was glad to see growth so heavily prioritized in council meetings, but he also recognizes that it can be challenging to make that sort of vision a reality.

“Everyone’s for growth. But when you have to make these difficult trade-offs, I think you have to hold the line but also listen to people and their concerns, and factor that into your decision as best you can,” he says, adding that making transparent decision-making is key.

On the city’s socio-economic issues, including addictions and homelessness, Gagné worries that the public is not always aware of what the city is actually capable of doing, relative to the responsibilities of the province.

“Everyone kind of throws everything at the councillors as they’re maybe the most visible focal point for receiving complaints about issues. But there’s a lot of responsibility at the provincial level — I mean, they’re completely responsible for health care,” he remarks.

At the same time, Gagné also has some problems with the city’s response to the crisis of homelessness.

“I think the city hasn’t gone far enough to preserve public space use for nearby residents,” says the Northwood hopeful. “I’d be advocating for a second look… maybe looking at taking another approach. I think we’re operating under too conservative of a legal theory.”

Syed Kabir

When not volunteering in the community for organizations like the Thunder Bay Public Library or Shift Network Thunder Bay, Syed Kabir works as a district manager for H&R Block.

He got involved in city politics for the first time as a Northwood Ward candidate in 2022, and is taking another shot at the title now because he feels “that there’s a gap between the decisions that are being made at City Hall and what residents really want to see,” and hopes to make the government more accountable.

Kabir says that many residents of the city tell him that they’re okay with property taxes increasing if they can see positive results come out of those tax hikes.

“They say… ‘am I getting the services for the taxes that I’m paying?’” he explains, pointing to the many potholes on the streets of his ward as a great example of how it doesn’t always feel like money is going to the right places.

Kabir also suggests that listening to residents is a key part of the job, and one underappreciated by other councillors.

“I think some people just need someone to talk to, to feel that they’re heard, that someone is listening to them. It’s not that they’re expecting a solution right then and there… they know that there are a lot of things involved when there is a project.”

Though Kabir is concerned about the fiscal responsibility of city council, he feels that the past term has seen some decisions he approves of, like the construction of the indoor turf facility.

“I definitely support it. But also at the same time… the project must match Thunder Bay’s needs and financial capacity. We want a lot of things, but we have to make sure to account for the actual demand, the building size, the operating revenue, taxpayers’ contributions, and the cost of maintaining that property for the next 20 or 30 years,” says Kabir. “Bigger is not always better. I’d say sustainability matters more.”

On homelessness, Kabir says the Temporary Shelter Village is a good start, and despite acknowledging homelessness and addictions as nationwide issues, wants to see the city do more to create “a clear pathway that connects people with mental health, addiction, and treatment support, and employment opportunities and all that. It’s not a solution, it’s a safety next. This is where we start.”

His pitch to voters is a vision of a Thunder Bay that his children want to stay and build a life in, with the experience to deliver it.

“I was not born in Canada. I came here, built my life from the ground… There’s a lot of things that I have been through that other City Councillors have not. I know how to handle pressure. I’ve been through a lot of struggles in my life… So now that I’ve been through this, I want to make other people’s lives better.”

John Ongaro

A veteran of Thunder Bay’s radio scene, John Ongaro has spent much of his career offering political commentary on city politics in Thunder Bay.

He says that after so many years reporting on City Hall “and talking to literally hundreds of people… having real fulsome discussions with people about what’s happening in the city and where we’re going,” he decided it was time “to put my money where my mouth is.”

A lifelong Northwood resident, Ongaro says rising crime, flooding, drainage and infrastructure are big concerns for his ward.

He says the Edward street redevelopment was a good start, but drainage to the Neebing river is an ongoing issue, and “there’s still a ways to go.”

Ongaro is bringing attention to traffic on James Street, and is concerned about plans reduce car lanes and add bike lanes given the coming Costco development.

“Anybody who’s going from Westfort to Costco is going to take James Street, and reducing it to two lanes could be a disaster for the ward.”

On homelessness, he calls the city’s 10-point-plan a good plan, though not necessarily well-executed: “I think we were slow on it,” he remarks.

He acknowledges that much of the responsibility for the issue has been offloaded from the federal and provincial governments, but is happy to see the city stepping up.

“We do have a responsibility to take care of people, and doing so in a compassionate way with that plan is a way to start.”

Ongaro is among a minority of candidates to be drawing attention to the city’s public transit issues, and has called for fares and monthly passes to be reduced by 50 per cent until transit brings down the rate of cancelled bus trips.

“It affects people every single day when a bus is cancelled or late. When transit routes come in front of council that affects people. We need to talk about those things more regularly,” he says, adding that it is taking too long for the city to complete its reports and strategy-planning on solving transit issues.

When it comes to developing parks and green spaces for housing, Ongaro says “parks should not be for sale, period. Green spaces should not even be considered for a place to dump a fourplex or a duplex or a small apartment. There is so much space in the downtown cores and beyond that we are not developing. The parks should be the last place we are looking.”