Politicians and civil servants must abandon their childish,
schoolyard territorial pedagogical conviction that benefits or
obstacles of economic development are limited to the ward in
which a particular initiative is in.
Taxpayers from across Greater Sudbury have had to swallow
the cruel reality that millions of dollars of their hard-earned
money have been lost by council on local economic experiments
that have failed. Neureka, co-generation, wind power, the
proposed diesel plant and others are examples of the city
losing big, both in financial and credibility terms. The
citizens in the areas of the city where these schemes were
located are not independently responsible for the public
dollars wasted. We all are.
Conversely, people and businesses from across this city are
profiting from the current surge in the mining and mining
service sectors. Those in Copper Cliff or Falconbridge are not
merely reaping the rewards of this economic boom. We all are.
That being said, city council as a whole must deal with the
Northern Breweries situation. The owner has an obligation to
appear in front of  council to discuss, and if need-be, to
defend his plans for the Lorne St. brewery. If I were sitting
around the council table I would have very specific questions.
My queries would be:
• Why is it that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been
invested in the Sault Ste. Marie plant, doubling the brewery
labour force in that town, while the Sudbury facility has been
mothballed?
• Does it sound fair to you that the Sudbury ratepayers have
forgiven over $600,000 of property taxes owed to see no jobs
created locally?
• What is the new expected completion date for the upgrading
of the local brewery and when are "Help Wanted" signs going up?
•  If plans have changed and now do not include
utilizing the Sudbury labour force, and you are abandoning the
promise to invest in our city, what are your plans to reimburse
the local taxpayers for their investment in your company?
 
Joe Cimino
Candidate, Ward 1