Canada/A majority-women city council sworn in in Halifax

Published on 07/11/2024 | La rédaction

Canada

Halifax's new city council was officially sworn in on Tuesday. For the first time, it includes a majority of women.

The new mayor, Andy Fillmore, and the 16 councillors were sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia.

The fact that almost half the faces around the table are new is a clear indication that this is a time of change in the Halifax Regional Municipality," said Fillmore in his first speech as mayor.

He thanked outgoing mayor Mike Savage for his service. Around the council table, seven of the sixteen councillors are new.

A majority of women

Andy Fillmore said he was proud to be mayor of a council that, for the first time, was majority female, with 9 women out of 16 councillors.

It's an extraordinary feeling! I'm very happy because the more women there are, the better things work," laughed Councillor Virginia Hinch.

She is the second black woman to be elected to City Council, after Iona Stoddard, who was elected in 2020 but lost the election on October 19.

Transit and affordability top priorities

The new mayor says he wants to tackle the issues of traffic congestion, public transit and affordability.

In his speech, Andy Fillmore said it was encouraging to see more affordable housing being built and investments in homeless shelters from all three levels of government.

Since his election, Fillmore has met with outgoing Premier Tim Houston and outgoing Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr. His conversation with the latter was an opportunity to reset the relationship between the municipal and provincial governments, says Andy Fillmore.

The new mayor has also met with NDP leader Claudia Chender and Liberal leader Zach Churchill in the past. Whatever the outcome of the provincial election, Andy Fillmore is ready to get to work.