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Community Advisory Assembly

The application period for the 2025-2026 Community Advisory Assembly has now closed. We received over 250 applications from the community. Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in applying. Applicants selected to join the Assembly will be notified by email in the coming weeks. The next term of the Community Advisory Assembly will begin in September 2025. 

The Community Advisory Assembly is a diverse group of New Westminster community members appointed to talk about City policies and projects that impact residents, and provide advice and recommendations back to staff and Council.

The Community Advisory Assembly:

  • includes a larger group of residents than our traditional committees (approximately 36 members),
  • meets more regularly than most other committees,
  • focuses on dialogue and deliberation,
  • includes a membership that mirrors the overall demographic profile of the city, and
  • offers a variety of supports to participants to help address barriers to participation.

The Assembly’s role is to advise City Council and staff across City departments on plans and actions related to Council’s Strategic Priorities, and other current City projects, plans and policies. Professional facilitators are contracted by the City to design and lead the Assembly meetings.

A pilot term of the Assembly ran from January 2024 – January 2025. In May 2025, New Westminster City Council approved the Community Advisory Assembly be continued as a permanent initiative.  

The Assembly is only one of the ways the City seeks community input and feedback on its projects, policies and programs. You will find details about all our engagements by visiting our website, Be Heard New West: beheardnewwest.ca. 

If you have any questions, please email . 

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • HOW DID THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY ASSEMBLY COME TO BE?

    Advisory committee members, City staff, and Council have all shared feedback in the past that the City’s traditional advisory committee structure was not entirely satisfactory and could be improved to better meet the needs of participants and the City. Former committee members, in particular, shared in 2023 that they wanted to be able to provide the City with more meaningful input into projects in earlier phases, and that they wanted to be able to see if and how their input influenced the outcome of the project.

    The Assembly model – where members form a representative cross-section of the public and deliberate to find common ground in providing advice to government – has been used in BC, Alberta, Ontario, and internationally in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and others.

    In June 2023, City Council directed staff to pursue the Assembly model to replace the previous committees and task forces that were organized around the former strategic plan.

    The pilot year of the Assembly ran from January 2024 to January 2025. The 36 members discussed a range of topics: community belonging and connecting; road reallocation; climate action and intersectionality; cultural observances; and evaluation of the Assembly model.

    Following the completion of the pilot year, the Assembly members, Council members, Steering Committee members, and staff who were involved in the process participated in the evaluation process. There was a strong trend among all groups recommending the City to continue with this model beyond the pilot year, with some adjustments.

    In May 2025, Council directed to continue with the Assembly model based on the evaluation results following the pilot year. Watch the staff presentation on the evaluation results at the Council Meeting here.

    Visit the resources below to learn more about the pilot year (January 2024 – January 2025) of the Community Advisory Assembly:

  • ABOUT THE MEMBERS AND APPLICATION PROCESS

    The Community Advisory Assembly consists of 36 members selected based on demographic characteristics such as the area of New West where they live, their age group, gender identity, housing tenure (renter or owner), visible minority, Indigenous identity, and a diversity of lived experiences.

    To select the Assembly members, City staff will first compile all application information into a spreadsheet, assign a unique number to each applicant, and remove all applicants' names and other identifying information such as email addresses.

    Staff from a separate department will then be provided with the de-identified data. Staff will apply a variety of filters in the spreadsheet to first identify the demographic groups where there are the fewest number of applicants, if any. Then staff will select applicants who may have a number of typically under-represented characteristics, such as renters, visible minorities, low-income, and those experiencing disabilities.

    The group will then be rounded out with selections based on age group, geographic area of the city, and gender identity in order to meet the overall community profile, as per the 2021 Census, as closely as possible. Selected applicants will then be contacted and asked to confirm their participation in the Assembly.

    Applicants are given an option to serve for one or two years on the Assembly. However, each year at least half of the group would be new members. Whether an applicant is chosen as a member for the second year depends on the demographic makeup of the rest of the group.

  • WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT FOR ASSEMBLY MEMBERS?

    (SUCH AS MEETING FREQUENCY, LENGTH OF TERM, ETC.)

    The term of the Assembly runs ten months, from September through June the following year. Members are required to commit to attending ten meetings in the year, one every month, as well as a kick-off dinner with Council to launch the new group and a wrap-up event with Council and Steering Committee members.

    Meetings run for 3 to 4 hours each, and are held in person, at rotating locations across the city. A variety of supports are offered to members to make participation easier, including reimbursement of any direct expenses, stipends for childcare / elder care, and compensation for low-income members or those who must miss paid work to attend meetings. Additional gatherings, or onboarding and educational sessions may be added depending on the needs and wants of the group. 

  • WHAT TOPICS WILL THE ASSEMBLY DISCUSS?

    The group will discuss and provide advice to the City on a variety of topics and current City projects that directly affect the day-to-day lives of New Westminster residents. Up to half of the topics discussed throughout their term will be generated by the Assembly members, and the remainder of the topics members will choose from a list generated by the City. Details on the topics and the Assembly’s discussions will be shared here in the agendas and minutes of the meetings.

    Past topics discussed by the Assembly include:

    • Community Belonging and Connecting (Council’s Strategic Priority)
    • Road reallocation projects related to City’s Active Transportation Network Plan
    • Climate change and intersectionality
    • Cultural observances in New Westminster
    • Future of the Community Advisory Assembly model

  • HOW WILL THE ASSEMBLY'S FEEDBACK USED?

    City Staff and Council that bring their projects to the Community Advisory Assembly for discussion are expected to plan for how to incorporate the Assembly’s input. The Assembly will be led by professional facilitators, who will work with the City’s teams to ensure their questions for the Assembly will be meaningful and applicable both for participants and the project.

    Staff and Council will provide updates on the progress of their projects following the Assembly’s recommendations. 

  • WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE STRUCTURE/TOPICS?

    (such as Affordable Housing and Childcare; Sustainable Transportation; Facilities, Infrastructure and Public Realm, etc.)

    Many of the City’s committees were structured around the previous Council’s Strategic Plan. Following the most recent local election in October 2022, the new Council went through a strategic planning process to identify new priorities for this term (2022-2026).

    As part of this planning process, Council asked City staff to explore potential changes to the structure of the City’s advisory committees. Staff researched other potential models, and several options, along with pros and cons, were considered and discussed with Council. Advisory committee members were also consulted and their feedback was shared with Council.