Advisory Bodies
Volunteer for Council Appointed Advisory Bodies
Committees are one of the ways the City of New Westminster includes residents in its work. The City has several committees, commissions, boards, and other advisory bodies (like task forces and working groups) to provide Council and staff with external expertise and lived experience on strategic priorities and other key issues.
Committees provide residents with an opportunity to engage with the City on an ongoing basis, and in a deeper way than other public engagement activities. The City benefits by having access to people with lived experience and residents’ perspectives that may be missing from Council and/or staff.
The recruitment period for the 2025 Advisory Bodies is now closed. Applications are open year round for current vacancies.
For further information on applying to serve in a volunteer capacity on an advisory body, visit the How to Apply page.
The Committee year begins on February 1st of each year.
Click here for the Advisory Committee Policy, which governs our advisory committees.
Click here for information about committees, commissions, task forces, and advisory groups that were active before 2024.
Please click here to apply online, download an application form or for further information.
For information regarding each Committee, including the length of term and mandate, please visit each committee's page, by clicking on the relevant committee below.
Current vacancies for the City’s committees, commissions and boards are as follows:
Committee
Vacancies
Accessibility Advisory Committee 1 Indigenous Community Representative 1 Indigenous Representative 1 Home-based Business Representative Applications are received all year round and will be considered for any vacancies that arise.
- For the 2025 Advisory Body Membership List, click here.
Chair: Councillor Jaimie McEvoy
Meetings: Bi-monthly, the fourth Wednesday.Open to public attendance in Meeting Room G, City Hall.
Committee members may attend electronically.Mandate: The Committee's role is to advise the City's Reconciliation, Social Inclusion, and Engagement Task Force on:
- Identifying accessibility and inclusion barriers that City staff and community members experience or may experience in the course of interacting with the City in the following areas: Employment; Delivery of Service; the Built Environment; Information and Communications; Transportation; and Procurement; Chair:
- Development of an organizational accessibility plan by September 1, 2023;
- Development of a mechanism for public feedback on accessibility.
For more information regarding the mandate of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, please see the Terms of Reference.
Contact: | 604-515-3782
**Visit Accessible New West for information on accessibility in the city*- View Agendas and Minutes
- View the Committee Meeting Calendar
Chair: Community Member
Meetings: Monthly, the third Tuesday. In December, the first Tuesday of the month.Commission members may attend electronically.
Open to public attendance in Council Chamber, City Hall and via Webinar at this link. Please note the link is updated for each meeting.Mandate: The APC reviews and advises Council on rezoning applications, amendments to the Official Community Plan, proposed community and neighbourhood plans, and in respect to proposed or revised City policies and procedures relating to planning and development.
For more information regarding the Advisory Planning Commission please review the following:
- View Agendas and Minutes
- View the Committee Meeting Calendar
Chair: Councillor Ruby Campbell
Council Representative: Councillor Paul Minhas
Meetings: Bi-monthly, the second Thursday.Open to public attendance in Committee Room 2, City Hall.
Committee members may attend electronically.Mandate: The Committee will:
• Provide advice, input and support regarding the implementation of Council-endorsed arts, cultural and economic development Strategic Plans, priorities, and other related civic policy and initiatives;
• Provide advice and input on strategies for ongoing and meaningful inclusion to ensure representation of diverse voices and equity in all plans, policies and opportunities brought forward;
• Provide advice and support to staff in regards to programming, engagement and audience development initiatives;
• Provide input on economic sector-based discussion and policy development related to building a strong and resilient local economy;
• Be a voice for the broad needs of the arts community to inform the City’s strategic policies and land use initiatives as required;
• Act as community ambassadors to promote and build awareness for the City's economic development, arts, and culture programs, initiatives and opportunities;
• Provide advice on any emerging challenges and opportunities and act as a link for collaboration between business, and arts and culture community partners.For more information regarding the mandate of the Arts, Culture and Economic Development Advisory Committee, please see the Terms of Reference.
- View Agendas and Minutes
- View the Committee Meeting Calendar
Chair: Community Member
Meetings: Monthly, the fourth Thursday.
Mandate: The Board of Variance is a quasi-judicial board which consists of five members appointed by Council. The Board of Variance is established pursuant to the Local Government Act which allows the board to consider variances which are, in the opinion of the board, both minor and cause the applicant hardship if required to conform to zoning requirements.
Variances can be granted respecting bylaw requirements for the siting, dimensions, or size of buildings. The board can also issue variances where regulations prohibiting structural changes in a non-conforming building or requiring services upon subdivision may result in an undue hardship. A person may make an application for a variance to the Board only if the application of these general regulations to their particular site would impose a hardship and would be considered minor. The Board of Variance cannot vary the use or density on any site. The Board of Variance functions independently from City Council.For more information regarding the Board of Variance please review the following:
- Board of Variance Guide
- Policy Approach to Considering Requests for Variances
- Board of Variance Bylaw
- View Agendas and Minutes
The Community Advisory Assembly is a pilot project, and the pilot term ran from January 2024 – January 2025.
Click here to read more about how it came to be.
Evaluation of the pilot is underway as of spring 2025. The evaluation results and staff recommendations on the future of the Assembly model will come forward to Council for decision-making in mid-2025.
Facilitators: Aftab Erfan, Executive Director, SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Nicole Armos, Manager, Knowledge and Practice, SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
Meetings: Monthly, alternating days.Mandate: The Assembly's role is to advise City Council and City staff across all departments on plans and actions related to Council's Strategic Priorities, and other current City projects, plans, and policies.
Topics that come to the Assembly for input should:
- Be expected to include changes that are likely to have a direct impact on residents;
- Include elements, details or options that have not yet been decided / there is opportunity to shape or change;
- Be early enough in the process where there is a genuine and meaningful opportunity for the Assembly to help shape outcomes;
- Provide sufficient background information and context for the Assembly to be able to provide informed, meaningful input; and
- Include a plan for project staff to report back to the Assembly and the community how the Assembly's input was incorporated / influenced the outcomes.
Assembly members will bring their lived experience, values, stories, and expertise as residents of New Westminster to discussions.
The Assembly will also have an opportunity to suggest topics for discussion and bring recommendations to the City for consideration.
For more information regarding the mandate of the Community Advisory Assembly, please see the Terms of Reference.
- View Agendas and Minutes
Chair: Councillor Daniel Fontaine
Council Representative: Councillor Ruby Campbell
Meetings: Monthly, the first Wednesday. No meeting in August.Commission members may attend electronically.
Open to public attendance in Council Chamber, City Hall and via Webinar at this link. Please note the link is updated for each meeting.Mandate: The purpose of the Community Heritage Commission will be to identify and advise the Council of the City of New Westminster on heritage issues within the City, particularly with respect to Part 15 of the Local Government Act. The role of Community Heritage Commission is to advise Council and staff on matters related to the City’s heritage program, including continuing public education and awareness of heritage, maintaining the City’s heritage register and heritage inventory, supporting the conservation of heritage resources, implementing policies to protect heritage resources, monitoring of identified heritage resources and the heritage program, promoting and enhancing City owned heritage resources, and requesting expenditures for heritage purposes, with Council approval.
For more information regarding the Community Heritage Commission please review the Terms of Reference.
- View Agendas and Minutes
Chair: Community Member
Council Representative (Mayor): Mayor Patrick Johnstone
Council Representative: Councillor Paul MinhasMeetings: As needed.
Mandate: The purpose of the Commission is to provide accountable, effective stewardship and strategic direction tailored to the unique needs of an electric utility operating in a municipal environment consistent with the enterprise’s mandate and objectives. Its purpose is to ensure that the enterprise is managed in a manner that is sensitive to both the revenue generating, service provision needs and other policies of the City on one hand and the operational and regulatory requirements of the industry on the other. In particular, it is to provide oversight and direction that is industry-knowledgeable to ensure the Utility is appropriately strategically positioned, both in the current industry and in regard to expected developments.
For more information regarding the mandate of the Electric Utility Commission please review the Terms of Reference.
- View Agendas and Minutes
- Update: The grant program has undergone a review and a recruitment process for new committee members will be coming in spring/summer 2025.
The City has three Grant Committees which review applications for the three grant portfolios. Click the links below for additional information on the committees:Community Livability and Social Equity Grant Committee
Social and Cultural Vibrancy Grant Committee
For more information on grants and how to apply for a grant, please see the Grants page.
Co-Chairs: Councillor Jaimie McEvoy and Peter Leblanc
Meetings: As needed.Mandate: The Massey Theatre Working Group is mandated maintain an active and transparent relationship between the City and Society, collaboratively ensure successful operations and stewardship of the Massey Theatre and Complex, plan for the long-term sustainability of this major civic cultural asset, its operations and programming.
For more information regarding the Massey Theatre Working Group please review the Terms of Reference.
- View Agendas and Minutes
Chair: Panelist
Meetings: Monthly, the fourth Tuesday.Open to public attendance in Council Chamber, City Hall and via Webinar at this link. Please note the link is updated for each meeting.
Mandate: The role of the New Westminster Design Panel (NWDP) is to review the design of all development projects (except single detached and duplex homes).
For more information please review:
- View Agendas and Minutes
- View the Committee Meeting Calendar
Meetings: Meets once per year with all of Council. Each Residents Association has its own schedule of meetings. To get contact information for a Residents' Association, please click here.
Mandate: The City of New Westminster recognizes the importance of enhancing communications, fostering co-operation, and establishing two-way dialogue between the City and the various community groups that represent neighbourhood views. Such groups provide vital insight into the needs and concerns of a particular neighbourhood and enhance the delivery of information from the City to its citizens and the citizens to the City.
For more information please see the Residents' Association Forum Guidelines.