The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank will succeed even without city council support because the community is generous and willing to help others, the mayor says.
“And it doesn’t always have to come down to municipal-level government in that role (of support, either). The people of Moose Jaw always stand up (for others), and in any fundraiser or organization to raise awareness, I would put us against anybody,” Mayor Fraser Tolmie said in a scrum after the recent city council meeting.
“We’ve seen that even with the Holiday Train and the amount of food that’s raised in our community compared to others.”
Tolmie added that instead of looking at this as a negative outcome, this is an opportunity for residents to give of themselves and support all the good work that the food bank does.
Council voted 5-2 during the March 8 executive committee meeting to receive and file a letter — essentially a vote of no — that the food bank submitted asking for a one-time waiver of permit and landfill fees. The non-profit organization has found a new home and needs to make renovations but wanted the fees waived to remain within budget.
Councillors Jamey Logan and Kim Robinson were opposed.
Tolmie acknowledged during the scrum that the one-time waiver of fees could have happened, but it would have created a precedent for other groups that also have one-time projects. Those one-time financial requests would then add up over time.
“So I think that’s where the caution has come from … when you’re sitting in that (council) chair, those are things that come across our desk frequently,” he continued. “That does not diminish the great work that that organization does in our community. You know that when people voted on that resolution that their guts were turning … it’s a tough one.”
Council must be fair to everyone, so that was the essence of the resolution, said Tolmie. He added that he was delighted to hear the good news that the food bank had found a new location and thought it was a good step forward.
In a separate media scrum, city manager Jim Puffalt discussed the differences between the food bank’s request and a similar request from the Salvation Army in 2018. He acknowledged that while there were slight differences in what each organization wanted, many other community groups also do good work. This makes it difficult to say no to everyone, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere.
“Once you start, it’s difficult to stop or say to somebody, ‘We only do that for this reason,’” he continued.
“So, it goes back to a couple of points. One, it’s not really the city’s responsibility for food security in the city (or welfare or social assistance); that’s more of a provincial responsibility. And there may be some taxpayers who don’t appreciate taxpayers’ money going to that (food bank) project. We can’t understand that, but there are people who say that. So, then it becomes an individual decision to support the food bank.”
The food bank is one of the charities city hall supports regularly, Puffalt added, as it did last year with several donations.
Two local businesses ultimately came forward to help the food bank with their fees.
