Chippewa friends group petitioning for Thunder Bay city council support
Exhibit slated for closure in May after city council rejected funding proposal
The stewardship group for Chippewa Park in Thunder Bay, Ont. says it hasn't yet given up trying to save the park's wildlife exhibit.
The attraction, which has been around since 1924, is slated for closure in May as part of this year's municipal budget proposals. A motion to restore $83,400 in operational funding for 2017 and spare the wildlife component was rejected by city council on Thursday.
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But Lorraine Lortie-Krawczuk, the president of the Friends of Chippewa Park, isn't giving up hope.
She said if there was enough political will, the city could work with academic institutions or the private sector to turn the exhibit into an animal sanctuary
"[The wildlife exhibit] doesn't necessarily have to be completely run by the city," Lortie-Krawczuk said. "I mean it's city-owned land ... so the city would have to have some say and some input into it, but I think that there's a lot of opportunity for partnerships."
It's not the first time the wildlife exhibit has been targeted for closure during municipal budget talks. Still, Lortie-Krawczuk said she hopes that people voice their concerns.
"We're asking people to contact their councillor, let them know how disappointed they are in this decision and push them to change their vote," she said.
A petition to save the wildlife component has garnered hundreds of signatures, she said, and the group has also been getting support on its Facebook page. Lortie-Krawczuk added that she hopes another motion to try and save the exhibit will go before council before the municipal budget is ratified Feb. 21.
Costs, ethics behind closure, says councillor
Coun. Shelby Ch'ng said the proposal to close the exhibit wasn't made in haste.
"I'm pleased we have an exit strategy for the Chippewa zoo," Ch'ng said, "I know I took it on the chin from a couple very unhappy residents, but you know, I think the bulk of the people were behind the closure of Chippewa zoo."
Ch'ng said if the exhibit stays open, the city will be on the hook financially, not only for the exhibit's continued operation, but also for capital costs to upgrade the facilities. There are also ethical considerations, Ch'ng said.
"I don't think that the taxpayer was going to be too happy about spending that much money on a wild animal enclosure," she said.
City manager Norm Gale told CBC News prior to budget deliberations that proposed cuts are due to the city trying to restrain spending.