Multiple senior citizens talk with city councillors ahead of Monday's regular council meeting on December 15. (Image Credit: Adam Berls/CKPGtoday.ca Staff)

By Adam Berls

city council

‘Slap in the face’: Senior citizens ask Council for equal support and Mayor pivots

Dec 15, 2025 | 8:31 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — Dozens of senior citizens turned up at council Monday after a motion was put forward by Mayor Simon Yu, that proposed the remaining funds from the 2025 Council Contingency Fund go to one seniors centre.

In his motion., Mayor Simon Yu proposed that “Council approve the use of the remaining balance in the 2025 Council Contingency Fund, $17,691.00, to provide immediate financial support to the Prince George & District Senior Citizens Activity Centre Society located at 425 Brunswick Street, enabling the facility to remain open through the end of the year into 2026.”

A number of letters in opposition to Yu’s motion were written to council. In one letter, it says that “this approach risks creating division among centres that should be working together to strengthen the lives of seniors.” The letter, written by “Edith”, says that the motion would also set “a precedent that contingency resources are not shared equitably.”

Shirley Morin, administrator of the Spruce Capital Senior Recreation Centre, wrote in a letter to council that “the plan of giving away the Contingency fund to the Brunswick Senior Centre and excluding all of the other senior centres is such a slap in the face to all of us who have worked so hard to make it through the year.” Morin noted that her members and Board of Directors, were supportive of her position and felt that they were “being treated very unfairly.”

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Yu, when giving rationale for his motion, changed his mind and pivoted, saying that the $17,691 should be divided equally among the five senior centres in Prince George, not just given to one. Councillor Kyle Sampson said that this was a band-aid solution, and wanted Council to think of a longer term solution, but that by setting a precedent, it could undermine Council’s integrity and the grant process. These ideas were included in a second part of Yu’s motion, which would direct administration to engage with senior organizations to determine whether a budget enhancement is required in the coming year to adequately support these organizations.

Councillor Susan Scott agreed with Sampson, and asked what Council could do better and wanted to dig deeper, and did not support Yu’s motion. Councillor Brian Skakun agreed with Sampson’s principles, but supported allocating funds from contingency to help the senior centres and suggested that senior centres look internally to find cost-saving measures, to ease the financial burden. He did not think it would set a precedent, as the contingency fund is up to Council’s discretion. Councillor Cori Ramsay did not support Yu’s motion, saying that the concept was “admirable”, but believed that the contingency funds should be left, and carried over for next year, to be used as surplus.

Councillor Tim Bennett surmised that “just because the money is there, doesn’t mean we should spend it, it’s a very slippery slope.” Bennett also worried about the precedent that this would set, citing the revisiting of the city’s grant program. Councillor Ron Polillo said that the Mayor’s pivoting on the motion was a surprise. “I was expecting one thing and got another”, Polillo said. He struggled to support allocating the funds five ways, saying it was a short-term solution and didn’t think it was sustainable. Polillo said that this type of situation raises questions about what council contingency funds should be used for and if there should be contingency fund at all. There was discussion, about what equity in allocating the funds meant and Yu tried to simplify the issue by saying that “I have five sons and I each get them a Christmas present, it may not be the same value, but the intent is there.”

Council voted to NOT allocate the contingency funds equally among the five senior centres, but did support efforts for administration to host a session with representatives from Prince George’s major seniors centres and seniors service organizations for the purpose of helping facilitate discussion on identifying shared challengers and operational pressures, exploring opportunities for collaboration and gathering collective feedback to inform future City support.

Some of the members in the gallery, who represented other senior centres in Prince George, were visibly upset when the vote went through, with many making comments directed towards Council and one person said, alluding to the councillors, “their time will come.” Manager of Legislative Services and Corporate Officer Ethan Anderson reminded members in the gallery, that they needed to keep their comments to themselves. The entire discussion lasted nearly an hour, with Mayor Simon Yu expressing his disappointment at the end of discussion, saying to those left in the gallery, “sorry folks, we’ll have to wait.”

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X: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com