A little over a year after being elected to the board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Martensville City Councillor Jamie Martens is up to her elbows in work with the country-wide organization.
Martens was first elected to the board in October, 2020. She was re-elected in June, 2021 as one of the representatives from Saskatchewan.
Since then, she’s been appointed to several FCM committees, including:
* Standing committee for international relations;
* Community safety and crime prevention;
* Rural Forum;
* Increasing women’s participation in municipal government;
* Environmental issues and sustainable development;
* Standing committee on conference planning;
* FCM Committee of the whole;
* FCM Board of Directors.
Recently, she’s been appointed the Vice-Chair of the FCM Rural Forum and taken a leading position with the FCM’s Canadian Women in Local Leadership (CanWILL) advisory group.
CanWILL is an FCM initiative fostering diversity and inclusion on municipal councils so they better reflect the citizens they serve.
“Women make up 33 per cent of elected officials at the federal and provincial levels, but only 21 per cent at the municipal level,” Martens told the Martensville City Council meeting on November 9. “So the goal is to increase the participation of women in municipal governments.”
Martens said it’s important that regional concerns are raised at the national level.
“Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have a united voice at the FCM table,” she said.
Martens said FCM is involved in a broad range of issues, all of which impact municipalities large and small across the country.
“The questions of community safety and crime prevention are an example,” she said. “Everything from RCMP contracts to trafficking in handguns, mental health and addictions.
“The FCM has taken a lead role in ensuring municipalities get a fair deal with regard to COVID economic recovery programs.”
The FCM also deals internationally with municipalities in other countries.
“It’s amazing how much we can learn from our colleagues in other countries,” said Martens. “It’s definitely a two-way street. We can provide help to them, and we find new solutions based on their experiences.”
The FCM is slated to hold its next national convention in Regina in 2022.