Lehman helms final council meeting after 12 years as Barrie mayor
It was the end of an era at city hall in Barrie Monday as one of the city's longest-ever serving mayors helmed his last city council meeting.
Monday served as the final gathering for the current session of council. Mayor Jeff Lehman, who chose not to seek another term after unsuccessfully running provincially, gave a heartfelt farewell to the city he's led as mayor for more than a decade.
"My work has been about building a better city," Lehman said in his speech, directed at his children. "I want the Barrie you grow up in to be better than the Barrie I grew up in."
Lehman was one of five people attending their final meeting on council. Deputy Mayor Barry Ward, who failed to win the mayoral election, bid adieu after serving as a councillor for 22 years, the longest-current serving member.
"It's kind of mixed emotions. I kind of wish I wasn't leaving council but on the other hand after 22 years I'm certainly not looking back with any regrets," says Ward. "I've done everything I wanted to do, except becoming mayor obviously but I've enjoyed it."
Councillor Mike McCann, who also attempted to win the mayor's seat, said goodbye after two terms, but hinted that he may return in the future.
Also saying goodbye were councillors Natalie Harris and Keenan Aylwin, who both chose not to seek a second term.
"I'm proud of the progressive movement in Barrie that has really found it's voice over the past four years and we've created a sense of community and connection," says Aylwin.
In his speech thanking his family, friends and constituents, the mayor issued a warning of the challenges that the next council faces. After 16 years in the council chambers, he's concerned of the increased political polarization, something he blames largely on the rise of social media.
"The antidote to that polarization and the isolation that feeds it is connection," says Lehman. "And we here in municipal government in our community, nobody has more direct ability to build connections amongst human beings than we in local government."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.