A push to shift meetings of city council to earlier in the day fell flat, with Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc failing to get support for his motion during Tuesday’s meeting.
Greater Sudbury city staff “are young people with young families,” he said, adding that his goal in tabling the motion was “to create a healthier environment for our staff.”
“They’re tired,” he said. “I think by readjusting our schedule a little bit we’re going to see more productivity out of them.”
Various city council committee meeting times would change under Leduc’s motion, and city council meetings would shift from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. He noted that some other municipalities have earlier city meetings, so why not Greater Sudbury?
“This would be a point of privilege to suggest and compare us to southern Ontario, where many city councillors are full-time positions,” Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée said. “Many of us, not all, but many of us put in full-time hours. We’re not compensated for that.”
Labbée added that some members of city council have day jobs and would not be able to attend day meetings.
She also asked Leduc why he tabled the motion for a city council meeting that followed his spending four months wintering in Florida, the relevance of which she did not explain.
Leduc attended meetings virtually during his time out of the country.
Pressed on his time in Florida a second time, Leduc yelled across the room to Labbée, “It doesn’t matter what agenda it’s on, OK?”
Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said that day meetings would prevent members of the public from attending, while Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre said that, like Labbée, he’d have difficulty attending day meetings due to his job.
During an upcoming review of ward boundaries and the structure of city council, he said they should have a discussion of whether Greater Sudbury city council positions should be full instead of part-time.
Leduc’s motion ended up falling flat, with the only vote in support of the motion coming from him. These votes were without Mayor Paul Lefebvre, who was not present.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.